Airtel Money, the financial services arm of Airtel Africa, has seen its annualised transaction value climb above $193 billion, a 35.9% year-on-year increase, as the company advances plans for a public listing in the first half of 2026.
According to Airtel Africa’s latest half-year results to September 2025, Airtel Money’s customer base climbed by 20% year-on-year to reach 49.8 million users across 14 countries. The growth was driven by an expanding agent network, improved smartphone penetration, and an increasingly digital customer experience.
The company added more than 308,000 agents and 56,000 activating outlets, while non-exclusive agents grew by 27%, improving reach in urban and rural areas. The physical expansion has been complemented by a growing demand for the MyAirtel app, Airtel Lite, and a growing presence on platforms like WhatsApp.
Notably, nearly half of Airtel Money’s customers (48.5%) now use smartphones. The company reports that smartphone users tend to transact more frequently and generate higher average revenue per user (ARPU) than those on feature phones. As a result, ARPU rose 11% in constant currency, while total mobile-money revenue grew 30% year-on-year.
Closing in on Africa’s fintech elite
With transaction volumes approaching $200 billion annually, Airtel Money is now ranked among Africa’s top three mobile-money providers, alongside M-Pesa and MTN Mobile Money.
Across the continent, Airtel’s fintech unit has emerged as a serious challenger to M-Pesa’s long-held dominance, particularly in Kenya, where its market share has jumped from 2.8% in 2023 to 9.1% in 2025, while M-Pesa’s share slipped to around 90%.
In total processed value, Airtel Money trails only M-Pesa, which handled about $450.8 billion as at 2025, and MTN Mobile Money, which exceeded $200 billion in 2024–25. This performance signals Airtel’s arrival as a pan-African fintech powerhouse, leveraging its telecom backbone and financial-inclusion strategy to compete head-to-head with regional leaders.
Financial results underpin expansion
The strong growth of Airtel Money is contributing meaningfully to Airtel Africa’s overall financial performance. Group revenue rose 24.5% in constant currency in the half-year ended September 2025, while EBITDA margins expanded to 49% in Q2 2026.
“Our strategy has been focused on providing a superior customer experience, and the strength of these results is testament to the initiatives we’ve been implementing across the business,” Airtel CEO Sunil Taldar said. “Airtel Money continues to gain momentum, with our customer base nearing 50 million and annualised total processed value approaching $200 billion, up over 35% year-on-year. The preparation for the IPO remains on course for a listing in the first half of 2026.”
The company has also raised its capital-expenditure guidance to between $875 million and $900 million for the current financial year, as it accelerates network investments to support rising digital and financial inclusion.
IPO plans take shape
The planned Airtel Money IPO, first floated in 2021 following investments from TPG’s Rise Fund ($200 million) and Mastercard ($100 million), is now taking concrete form. Those early investments valued the business at around $2.65 billion, but recent growth has likely pushed its worth considerably higher.
Analysts and internal projections suggest the IPO could value Airtel Money at more than $4 billion, potentially making it Africa’s biggest-ever fintech listing. The company aims to raise $2–3 billion to fund expansion in digital banking, lending, and merchant services.
Airtel Africa has engaged Citigroup as lead adviser for the listing and is considering London, the UAE, and other global exchanges as potential venues. The IPO strategy seeks to position Airtel Money as an independent, publicly traded fintech leader while unlocking shareholder value and providing capital for deeper innovation. To prepare, Airtel Africa has been consolidating fintech operations across its 14 markets into a unified structure. Airtel Money’s path toward nearly $200 billion in annual processed transaction value reflects significant growth in user adoption and platform engagement across Africa.
