Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Business of Tech

Airtel Africa adds 3M subs on back of Nigerian recovery

Article Image
A strong recovery in Nigeria helped Airtel Africa grow its customer base on the continent by 5.8% to 125.8 million in the third quarter of its financial year, ending December 31, 2021.

The customer base growth had been affected by the Nigerian government's National Identity Number (NIN) enrolment program but returned to growth in the third quarter.

Airtel Africa CEO Segun Ogunsanya said that Nigeria returned to strong customer growth after a period affected by the implementation of new 'know your customer' requirements, posting 1.9 million net additions in the third quarter, taking total group customer additions to 3.1 million.

The Nigerian SIM registration process started back in December 2020. The Nigerian government wants NINs linked to customer SIM cards as a way to stop the activities of fraudsters, cybercriminals and terrorists using unregistered SIMs.

"I am particularly pleased with developments in Nigeria, where in November we received approval in principle for both a payment service bank (mobile money) license and a super-agent license. We are now working closely with the Central Bank to meet all its conditions to receive the final operating licenses and commence operations," Ogunsanya said.

This will help Airtel's strategy to expand its digital financial products and reach the millions of Nigerians that currently do not have access to traditional financial services.

Airtel Africa CEO Segun Ogunsanya. (Source: Airtel Africa)
Airtel Africa CEO Segun Ogunsanya.
(Source: Airtel Africa)

Airtel said that African customer growth was boosted by an 11.1% rise in data customers, now at 45.1 million, while mobile money customer grew by 19.6% to 25.7 million.

Revenue resurgence

The telco, which operates in 14 African markets, also reported strong financials for the first nine months of the year with reported revenue up by 21.7% to $3.5 billion; while constant currency underlying revenue was up 24.8%.

Profit after tax almost doubled year-on-year to $514 million as higher profit before tax more than offset associated tax charges.

Revenue growth was recorded across all regions and on a constant currency basis revenue grew in Nigeria by 29%, in East Africa by 24.4% and in Francophone Africa by 19.%.

The same could be said of all key services, with revenue in voice up 16.1%, and in data and mobile money both up 37.2% for the nine months.

Last week the group also announced that Airtel Africa would be joining the FTSE 100, just two-and-a-half years after it listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Related posts:

*Top image source: jbdodane on Flickr CC 2.0

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa

Innovation hub

Story

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Tech Herfrica

Connecting Africa's hot startup is Nigeria's Tech Herfrica, a social impact organization that focuses on the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in rural areas of Nigeria.

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002