Airtel Africa customers base has reached 166.1 million representing 8.7% rise with digital inclusion supporting a 4.3% increase in smartphone penetration to 44.8%.

Not only that but also data customers increased by 14.1% to 73.4million, with data usage per customer increasing by 30.4% to 7.0 GB, supporting data ARPU growth of 15.4% in constant currency.

This is according to financial year report ended March 31, 2025 title “Accelerating growth and sequential margin expansion during the year supportsstrong operating andfinancial momentum”.

The report says the company will continue investing in Airtel Money agent network, enhanced digital offerings and “expanded use cases contributed to a 17.3% increase in mobile money subscribers to 44.6 million and a 11.4% growth in constant currency ARPU.

“Transaction value increased by 34% in constant currency with annualised transaction value of $145bn.

“Our strategic focus on great customer experience was underpinned by sustained network investment with the rollout of 2,583 new sites and approximately 3,300 kms of fibre,supporting increased data capacity across the region,” reads the report in part.

Echoing the same, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer said, “We have reported another strong operating performance as our strategy continues to deliver against the significant
opportunity that exists across our markets.

“The focus on our refreshed strategy has seen continued investment in the network while also driving improvements in our digital platforms and offerings to further enhance the customer experience”.

He added, “This has enabled increased digital inclusion with a further 20% growth in our smartphone customers to 74.4m, contributing to a 47.5% increase in data traffic over the year.

“Furthermore, Airtel Money continues to support financial inclusion with customers increasing 17.3% to 44.6 million and an expanding ecosystem underpinning the $136bn transaction value, which increased 32% in constant currency”.

Taldar explains further, “An improving operating environment and focussed execution contributed to strong momentum in our financial results with constant currency revenue growth peaking at 23.2%.

“Part of this acceleration in the last quarter has also
been driven by the Nigerian tariff adjustments.
This accelerating revenue growth and cost optimisation programme has supported quarterly EBITDA margin expansion during the year”.

He stated, “Underlying EBITDA margins increased by 200bps from 45.3% in Q1’25 to 47.3% in Q4’25, and we remain focussed on further EBITDA margin improvements subject to macroeconomic stability. This, combined with our robust capital structure and disciplined capital allocation, puts us in a strong position to continue investing in network capacity to
deliver continued growth.

“We are making significant progress in our preparations for the Airtel Money IPO and remain committed to this objective. However, we are also mindful of evolving market conditions. Therefore, subject to these conditions, we anticipate a listing event in the first half of calendar year 2026”.

Taldar explains further, “The recent stability in the operating environment is encouraging, however we remain conscious of global developments that may impact our business.

“We will remain focussed on delivering our strategy to transform the lives of our customers and support economic prosperity across our markets.

He therefore lauded, “I want to say a particular thank-you to our customers, partners, governments and regulators for their support and our employees for their unrelenting contribution to the business.”