Rising Data Demand Drives Airtel’s East Africa Performance

Airtel’s East Africa operations recorded strong growth in the latest quarter, driven by surging data consumption, an expanding customer base, and continued investment in network infrastructure. Reported revenue from mobile services rose to $498 million, up from $423 million in Q1 2024, supported by a 47.4% increase in data usage across the network and a 17.4% rise in data customers, now totalling 75.6 million.

The company’s strategic investments in 4G and 5G network expansion, including 1,244 5G-enabled sites across four countries alongside a 4.3% increase in smartphone penetration to 45.9%, played a key role in this performance. Data revenue climbed to $207 million from $170 million, while voice revenue increased to $245 million from $210 million, backed by a 9.8% growth in the customer base.

A key contributor to the quarter’s revenue performance was the appreciation of the Ugandan shilling, which boosted Airtel’s reported currency figures. The stronger shilling helped elevate earnings when converted to the US dollar, resulting in reported revenue growth outpacing constant currency growth of 16.9%. This currency effect positioned Uganda as a significant driver of regional performance.

Airtel’s mobile money segment also posted solid gains. Revenue from Airtel Money in East Africa covering Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, and Malawi rose to $216 million in Q1 2025, up from $167 million a year earlier. This contributed significantly to the company’s total mobile money revenue of $290 million, reflecting the growing uptake of digital financial services across the region.

Group-wide, Airtel Africa continued its strong momentum with a total customer base rising by 9.0% to 169.4 million. This growth was supported by efforts to bridge the digital divide and enhance the customer experience. Data ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) increased by 18.5% in constant currency, reflecting strong demand for mobile internet services.

Commenting on the performance update, Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, attributes this steady growth to the company’s refined strategy. He stated, “The strength of this performance and the scale of the growth we achieved reflect the sustained demand for our services and the robustness of our business model in meeting these demands.” He further added, “Operationally, the acceleration in customer base growth to 9%, and 17.4% growth in our data customers to 75.6m reflects the strong on-ground execution with a relentless focus on digitisation and the simplification of the customer experience.”

“Our strategy continues to prioritise the customer experience, as demonstrated by our network investment with the rollout of over 2,300 new sites to reach 37,579 sites and an expansion of our fibre network by 2,700 km to over 79,600 km. This investment continues to drive increased data capacity across the region, with 4G population coverage reaching 74.7%, an increase of 3.4% from a year ago.

Additionally, Mobile money remains a cornerstone of current and future growth propositions, with constant currency growth of 30.3%. Higher reported currency revenue growth compared to constant currency was primarily on account of CFA appreciation. The constant currency growth was driven by revenue growth of 29.6% in East Africa.” Sunil concluded.

Airtel Africa closed the quarter on a high note, recording revenue growth of $1.42 billion, a 22.4% increase in reported currency. Notably, data now contributes nearly half of mobile services revenue, underscoring its growing strategic importance in Airtel’s long-term growth trajectory across the continent.