Telecom
Airtel Africa Grows Revenue by 21.7% in 9 Months
Airtel Africa has recorded a revenue growth of 21 per cent in nine months.
This is contained in a statement by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, made available on Friday in Lagos.
Ogunsanya said that the revenue represented a growth of 21.7 per cent when compared with 2.87 million dollars recorded in the comparative period of 2020.
He said that the result was the effective execution of company’s strategy across all its regional segments and key services.
Ogunsanya said the underlying revenue in constant currency grew by 24.8 per cent, revenue in Nigeria grew by 29.0 per cent, East Africa by 24.4 per cent and Francophone Africa rose by 19.0 per cent.
“We continued our strong double-digit growth across all key services: our voice revenue grew by 16.1 per cent, and both data revenue and mobile money revenue grew by 37.2 per cent and other revenue by 22.0 per cent.
“As a result, mobile services revenue grew by 23.3 per cent in constant currency (20.7 per cent in reported currency) and mobile money services revenue grew by 37.2 per cent (39.6 per cent in reported currency).
He said the year-on-year constant currency revenue growth rate for Q3’21 of 20.0 per cent was lower than the nine months growth rate of 24.8 per cent primarily due to softer comparatives in the first quarter of the prior year during the peak period of COVID-19 related restrictions across the region.
“A strong third quarter has contributed to a pleasing nine-month financial performance across all key metrics.
“Operationally, we have continued to execute on our network and distribution expansion plans, driving continued strong growth in ARPUs across voice, data and mobile money.
“We have also seen further improvement in our customer growth trends for the Group with Nigeria returning to strong customer growth after a period affected by the implementation of ‘know your customer’ requirements, posting 1.9 million net additions in the third quarter, taking total Group customer additions to 3.1 million.
“I am particularly pleased with developments in Nigeria, when in November we received approval in principle for both a payment service bank (mobile money) licence and a super-agent licence.
“We are now working closely with the Central Bank to meet all its conditions to receive the final operating licences and commence operations.
“This will enable us to expand our digital financial products and reach the millions of Nigerians that do not have access to traditional financial services.
“We continued to strengthen our balance sheet, with our leverage ratio now 1.4 times underlying EBITDA, thanks both to continued increases in operating cash flow delivery and to over 550 million dollars of cash that has now been received from minority investments into our mobile money business,” he said.
Ogunsanya added that the company would continue to invest in expanding and evolving its platform to further deepen both financial and digital inclusion across Africa.
“I continue to see huge growth potential across voice, data and mobile money and our strategy is delivering against this opportunity.
“Our sustained investments in both network and distribution expansion will help to ensure that both the communities and economies across our footprint will continue to benefit from increased and affordable connectivity and financial inclusion.
“We are committed to continue to improve the delivery of our services to our customers, with sustainability at the heart of our continued purpose to transform lives across Africa.
“Net finance costs were lower compared with the previous period driven by lower forex losses.
“The increase in tax charges of 129 million dollars was due to higher operating profit and withholding tax on dividends by subsidiaries, with the prior period also benefitting from 14 million dollars deferred tax credit recognition,” he said.
Ogunsanya said the company’s basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) improved to 11.7 cents and EPS before exceptional items improved to 11.5 cents, with higher profits more than offsetting the associated increased tax.
“Our balance sheet has also been further de-risked by continued localisation of our debt into the OpCos,” he added.
Airtel Africa reported a profit after tax of $376 million for the half year ended September 30, 2025 as compared to $79 million in the corresponding period last fiscal, benefitting from a $90 million gain largely arising from Nigerian naira appreciation during the current quarter (Q2’26) and the Central African franc (CFA) appreciation during the previous quarter (Q1’26).
Revenues at $2,982 million for the reported period saw strong growth as compared to $2,370 million in the six months of the last fiscal, rising 24.5% in constant currency and 25.8% in reported currency.
The company said constant currency revenue growth reflects the consistent execution of its strategy, supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and continued strong growth momentum in Francophone Africa.
“Our strategy has been focussed on providing a superior customer experience and the strength of these results is testament to the initiatives that we have been implementing across the business,” Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer of the company said in a statement.
He said the company has been scaling the network to build additional capacity to facilitate the rise in both digital and financial inclusion.
“The increase in smartphone penetration to 46.8% reflects the substantial demand for data services across our markets but also highlights the scale of the opportunity to further develop the digital economy,” Taldar said.
Capex for the period stood at $318 million. “We have increased our capex guidance for FY’26 to between $875m and $900m – from ‘between $725 million and $750 million’.
This reflects our decision to accelerate our ability to capitalise on the significant growth opportunity that is available across the region, as is reflected by these strong H1’26 results,” the company said.
During the period, the company continued investments in network with the rollout of over 2,350 new sites to over 38,300 sites and an expansion of its fibre network by approx. 4,000 kms to over 81,000 kms.
Vitel Wireless Limited, a GSM second level operator, licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is set to begin nationwide operations on October 30.
Kenneth Nwabueze, Chairman and CEO of Vitel Wireless
Themed “Blue is Here,” the launch event will unveil E-SIMs, physical SIMs, and smart connectivity solutions for individuals and businesses
With the tagline “Everything Connected,” Vitel aims to redefine communication in Nigeria through innovation, speed, and trust.
In a statement earlier, Vitel Wireless, said it combines reliability with innovation, leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver seamless connectivity and intelligent solutions across the country.
“The company’s services go beyond communication — they integrate safety, mobility, and smart systems to enhance how individuals, businesses, and communities connect,” the statement reads.
According to Engr Kenneth Nwabueze, executive chairman, Vitel Wireless, at the heart of the telco’s mission is a bold vision to redefine mobile communication through technology that not only connects people but also protects them.
He highlighted the features saying the device is embedded with IoT-driven devices, smart logistics solutions and AI-powered safety analytics.
“Vitel Wireless is more than a telecom brand — it’s a movement toward a smarter, safer, and more connected Nigeria. Our goal is to bridge technology and humanity, using mobile innovation to improve lives, empower businesses, and strengthen national security,” Engr. Nwabueze said.
He stated that the Vitel Wireless team has interconnected with all major Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, and Glo, and has a roaming agreement with MTN for nationwide rollout, extending Vitel Wireless coverage as one of the largest networks in Nigeria.
“Vitel Wireless has partnered with NCC and various law enforcement agencies to define and support key regulatory frameworks that now govern the nation’s telecom space in personal and public safety,” he said.
He added that the value added service includes Xphone -free phone calls and low international calling rates, SecureMe -location awareness solution for personal safety, Oga-App -employment enhancement and performance tool, ISEEYOU -AI-based CCTV with real-time alerts, AssetNow -LBS/GPS-based asset tracker, and many more.
“Vitel Wireless’s nationwide rollout signals a new era for the telecom industry — one where connectivity meets intelligence, and technology serves both purpose and people,” Nwabueze added.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, in collaboration with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) through the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria, has announced the shortlist of 100 young Nigerian innovators for the second phase of the 2025 Nigeria PachiPanda Challenge.
The initiative, launched in 2024, is aimed at fostering home-grown solutions to Nigeria’s most pressing environmental challenges, including climate change, pollution, community conservation, and sustainability.
According to a joint statement by the organisers, the top 100 were selected from a pool of 2,169 applications received nationwide. The selection process involved a rigorous multi-stage evaluation conducted by 20 expert assessors, guided by a robust framework to ensure fairness and consistency.
“The shortlisted innovators represent the brightest minds committed to environmental resilience,” the statement read. “Their solutions span high-impact sectors and are designed to address both national and continental environmental issues.”
The PachiPanda programme offers participants access to mentorship, technical workshops, seed funding, and a network of industry experts. The next phase will see a further evaluation to determine the Top 10 finalists, who will be unveiled ahead of a three-day sprint pitch and masterclass event scheduled for November 2025 in Lagos.
During the event, finalists will undergo intensive training to refine their business strategies and enhance their solutions for broader impact. Winners of the Nigeria PachiPanda Challenge will advance to the continental Africa PachiPanda Contest, where they will compete with other national champions.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek reports that the programme underscores MTN Nigeria’s commitment to eco-entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability, empowering youth-led enterprises to drive green innovation across Africa.
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