MTN Business Eye: Smart CCTV for Ghana SMEs

The week of Christmas is when many Ghanaian shops make their fastest sales—and also when “small small losses” tend to show up. A missing box in the store room. A fuel station attendant who can’t explain a shortfall. A restaurant’s back door that “somehow” wasn’t locked. Most SMEs don’t have time for detective work, and honestly, they shouldn’t need it.

That’s why MTN Ghana’s new Business Eye matters. It’s not just another CCTV package. It’s a practical sign of where Ghanaian business tech is going: connected devices + remote monitoring + smarter alerts, built for real conditions like power cuts, limited security staff, and owners who manage things from their phones.

This post sits inside our series, “Sɛnea AI Reboa Adwumakuo Ketewa (SMEs) Wɔ Ghana”—because surveillance is no longer only about recording videos. Done well, it becomes a data-driven tool that improves operations, reduces leakage, and helps you run a tighter business.

What MTN Business Eye actually solves for SMEs

Business Eye solves one big SME headache: you can’t be everywhere at once. Many business owners in Ghana manage multiple branches, travel frequently, or leave operations to supervisors. When something goes wrong, you hear it late—after money is lost.

From MTN’s announcement, Business Eye is positioned for places where incidents happen quickly and evidence matters: retail shops, restaurants, fuel stations, warehouses, and offices. The goal isn’t to “watch people.” The goal is to protect assets, monitor operations, and stay connected 24/7.

Here’s the real shift: traditional CCTV is passive. It records. Smart surveillance is active. It alerts, stores reliably, and supports remote decision-making.

The features that matter (and why)

Business Eye includes several choices that fit Ghanaian SME realities:

• SIM-enabled and Wi‑Fi-enabled models: You can use it where you don’t have fixed internet, or where Wi‑Fi is stable.
• 24/7 remote monitoring with real-time alerts: You’re not waiting till next morning to check footage.
• Secure cloud storage + SD-card backup: If a device is stolen or damaged, cloud recordings can still help.
• Solar-powered feature: Power cuts and unstable electricity aren’t a “rare situation” for many businesses.
• Two-way audio: You can speak through the device—useful for access control, staff guidance, and incident response.

If you’ve ever tried to retrieve footage from a cheap DVR after an incident, you already know why cloud + backup is a serious improvement.

A good surveillance setup doesn’t just catch thieves—it prevents small losses from becoming routine.

Why “smart surveillance” fits the AI and productivity conversation

Smart surveillance fits the AI adoption story because it pushes SMEs from guesswork to visibility. Even when a product isn’t marketed as “AI,” the value comes from the same idea: systems that sense what’s happening, notify you quickly, and keep records you can act on.

In practical terms, Business Eye supports three productivity outcomes SMEs in Ghana care about:

1. Loss prevention (shrinkage control)
2. Process discipline (staff follow-through, SOP compliance)
3. Faster decisions (you respond in minutes, not days)

And that’s exactly what this series is about—Sɛnea AI Reboa Adwumafie: using digital tools so small teams can run like bigger teams.

A myth worth killing: “CCTV is only for crime”

Most companies get this wrong. They buy cameras after an incident, then stop paying attention once the fear fades.

A smarter approach is to treat surveillance like an operational tool:

• Confirm deliveries happened at the right time
• Check opening/closing procedures were followed
• Validate cash-handling steps at the point of sale
• Monitor queues and peak hours for staffing decisions

Once you start using footage and alerts as “business data,” you begin to tighten operations. That’s where productivity gains come from.

Where Business Eye fits best: 4 Ghana SME scenarios

Business Eye is most useful where you have cash, stock, or safety risk. Here are scenarios I’ve seen where smart monitoring pays for itself quickly.

1) Retail shops and pharmacies: stop stock leakage

Retail loss often comes from “inside.” Not always theft—sometimes carelessness, poor recording of stock movement, or side-selling.

A good camera placement plan helps you cover:

• The counter and point-of-sale area
• Stock room entry/exit
• High-value shelves (phones, cosmetics, medicines)

The win isn’t only catching bad behavior. It’s making everyone more consistent because expectations are clear.

2) Restaurants and bars: manage service, safety, and disputes

Restaurants deal with:

• Customer disputes (“I paid already” / “you didn’t serve my order”)
• Back-of-house access control
• End-of-day cash reconciliation

Two-way audio also becomes practical here. You can address issues quickly without driving to the site.

3) Fuel stations: protect revenue and reduce operational risk

Fuel stations are sensitive environments: cash, product, and safety.

Smart monitoring helps with:

• Incident evidence (customer claims, staff disputes)
• After-hours perimeter coverage
• Procedure compliance (especially for safety)

4) Warehouses and small factories: watch movement, not just doors

Warehouses don’t lose money only through break-ins. They lose money through poor control of movement: who entered, what left, when it happened.

Cloud storage plus alerts gives you a timeline when things go missing—so investigations don’t turn into rumors.

A practical buying checklist for SMEs (before you subscribe)

Your success with any CCTV solution depends more on planning than the camera brand. Before purchasing a Business Eye device (or any smart surveillance solution), get these basics right.

Coverage plan: what are you trying to see?

Write down the top 5 things you need visibility on. For example:

• Who enters the stock room after 6pm
• What happens at the cashier during rush hours
• Who opens the premises in the morning
• Vehicle movements at the back gate
• The pump area and cashier at a fuel station

If you can’t list the questions, you’ll end up with footage you never use.

Connectivity choice: SIM or Wi‑Fi?

Pick based on reality, not hope.

• Choose SIM-enabled if your business location has unreliable fixed internet or you want a dedicated connection.
• Choose Wi‑Fi-enabled if you already have stable internet and good router coverage.

Also think about data costs. MTN has indicated dedicated IoT bundle packages for Business Eye, which is a big deal because surveillance can consume data quickly depending on settings.

Power planning: treat outages as normal

If your area experiences regular outages, prioritize setups that keep recording. The solar-powered feature is a direct response to this Ghana-specific pain.

Storage policy: cloud, SD card, and retention

Decide how long you need recordings for:

• 3–7 days may be enough for day-to-day disputes
• 14–30 days is better for stock investigations and audits

The best setup is one where you’re not relying on only one storage method.

Setup and operations: how to get real value (not just video)

The main value comes when you turn surveillance into a routine. Here’s a simple operating system SMEs can run without hiring a security manager.

Create “review moments” (10 minutes, not 2 hours)

Pick short review times:

• Opening: confirm premises opened properly
• Midday: check peak-hour operations
• Closing: confirm cash handling and lock-up steps

You don’t need to watch everything. You need to check the moments that correlate with losses.

Use alerts like a manager’s assistant

When real-time alerts are set well, they reduce the need for constant checking. Practical examples:

• After-hours motion alerts
• Alerts for restricted zones (stock room, safe area)

If alerts are too noisy, people ignore them. Tune them until they’re useful.

Combine surveillance with other “AI for SMEs” tools

This is where the broader series comes in. Smart CCTV works better when it supports other systems:

• Digital inventory tracking: footage helps validate stock movement
• Mobile money reconciliation: confirm POS vs. activity at cashier
• Staff scheduling: match staffing levels to actual customer traffic

AI adoption isn’t one big purchase. It’s stacking small systems that give you control.

How to get Business Eye in Ghana (and what to ask before paying)

MTN Ghana says businesses can subscribe via *5060#, and devices can be purchased through MTN outlets and authorised resellers.

Before you commit, ask the sales team these questions:

1. What’s included in the monthly cost (monitoring, cloud storage, alerts)?
2. How long is footage retained on the cloud by default?
3. What happens when the network goes down—does SD recording continue?
4. What’s the warranty and replacement process for devices?
5. Can you add more cameras later under the same business account?

Those answers determine whether it’s a tool you’ll rely on—or another gadget that becomes background noise.

What this launch signals for Ghanaian businesses in 2026

MTN Business Eye is a sign that business connectivity in Ghana is shifting from “data and minutes” to “solutions that run operations.” For SMEs, that’s good news. It means the tools that used to be only for banks and large corporates are now packaged for smaller teams.

If you’re following our “Sɛnea AI Reboa Adwumakuo Ketewa (SMEs) Wɔ Ghana” series, here’s the practical stance: smart surveillance is one of the simplest ways to start using digital systems to improve discipline, reduce losses, and protect staff and customers.

Pick one site. Set it up well. Define what you’ll measure (loss reduction, incident response time, fewer disputes). Then expand.

What part of your business would improve fastest if you had reliable visibility—cash handling, stock control, customer disputes, or after-hours security?