NAIROBI-(MaraviPost)-The continent’s smartphones network provider Airtel Africa has now a total customer base increased to 189 million, growing by 11.6% with datacustomers increasing by 15.5% to 87.3 million.
Data usage per customer continued its upward trajectory, rising from7.8 GB to 10.6 GB per month over the past year, translating into a 56.3% increase in data traffic across the network,underpinning a 10.3% growth in constant currency.
This is according to financial and progress report issued on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
The report shows strong foundations enabling profitable growth and investment in future growth opportunities.
This is due to a sustained focus on our strategy, we delivered a strong operating performance with accelerating customer
base growth across all segments.
Smartphone penetration was the key enabler of this increased traffic as penetration increased to 51.0% as digital adoption of our services continues.
The report reveals that annualised total processed value (TPV) on our Airtel Money platform increased by 51.5% to over $245bn in reported currency, supported by continued growth in our customer base to 56.5 million, up by 23.3%, and increased engagement.
“Our focus on deepening financial inclusion through increased customer adoption, broader use cases and a stronger digital payments ecosystem enabled higher usage and facilitated continued ARPU growth, reinforcing Airtel Money’s growing role as a trusted digital financial services provider,” reads part of the report.
On the financial performance, the report reads that revenue in reported currency grew by 31.0%, to $1,853m, reflecting constant currency growth of 21.1% and macroeconomic tailwinds supporting currency appreciation.
According to the company, all segments continued to see double-digit constant currency revenue growth, with mobile services revenue growing by 19.1%, and mobile money growing by 25.8%.
“Across mobile services, voice continued to see strong constant currency growth of 11.2% and data revenue grew by 27.2%. In East Africa and Francophone Africa, constant currency revenues grew by 17.8% and 18.0% respectively, while Nigerian revenues grew by 29.8%, fully reflecting the lapping effect of the tariff adjustments which were implemented.
“During the period, the Board approved a share buyback programme to repurchase up to 1% of its issued share capital. As of 30 June 2026, the company had purchased approximately 10.2million shares for a total consideration of $46.6m,” concludes the report.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, on the trading update: “We have started this year with another pleasing performance. Our continued focus on the customer experience
translated into accelerating customer base growth across all business segments.
“As we continue to digitise our business,
we are streamlining customer journeys, increasing digital adoption and harnessing data and AI to improve service delivery
and support a strong, sustainable growth profile”.
He added, “Smartphone penetration reached 51.0%, an increase of 5.2 percentage points over the last year, reflecting continued progress in digital adoption across our markets. Supported by sustained investment in our network, this has driven a 56.3% increase in data traffic as customers embrace digital solutions across our markets.
“Airtel Money continues to expand financial inclusion across our markets and unlock new growth vectors. Annualised TPV in excess of $245bn increased 51.5% reflecting the strength of engagement across the ecosystem, as the suite of product continues to expand and digital adoption underpins the customer experience”.
Taldar optimistic, “As we enter the next phase of our growth journey, we are pleased to confirm London as our preferred listing venue for Airtel Money in 2026.
“We believe a London listing will provide access to a broad international investor base and support our ambition to unlock the long-term value of one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms”.
He assures, “We continue to see our cost efficiency programme supporting EBITDA margin resilience, with EBITDA margins of 50.1% in the quarter. Higher energy costs arising from recent geopolitical developments are expected to increase inflationary pressures and weigh on EBITDA margins in the near term, however, we will continue to focus on offsetting some of this impact over the year.
“Our accelerated investment programme remains on track, with investment brought forward into Q1 as we proactively invest ahead of demand to sustain our strong operating momentum and capture the growth opportunities presented by Africa’s ongoing digital transformation.”
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