Airtel Africa’s Airtel Money is heading for a London IPO after a strong Q1

Airtel Africa is betting that its fast-growing mobile money business can become a standalone fintech powerhouse.

The telecoms group has confirmed London as its preferred listing venue for Airtel Money in 2026, as the business continues to grow across its African markets. The announcement came as Airtel Africa reported strong results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, with customer growth, data usage, mobile money activity, and profitability all increasing.

For Airtel Africa, the numbers point to a business increasingly driven by more than traditional voice calls. Its 189 million customers are consuming more data, using more digital services, and increasingly relying on Airtel Money for financial transactions.

The biggest growth story in Airtel Africa’s latest results is its mobile money business.

Airtel Money’s annualised total processed value (TPV) rose 51.5% to more than $245 billion in reported currency. Its customer base also grew 23.3% year-on-year to 56.5 million.

The growth reflects the increasing role of mobile money across Africa, where mobile phones are often more accessible than traditional banking infrastructure. Airtel Money users can access services such as payments, transfers, and other digital financial products on their phones, helping the platform deepen its presence across the company’s markets.

Airtel Africa’s decision to pursue a separate listing for the business is a significant step. The company believes a London listing will give Airtel Money access to a broader international investor base and help unlock the value of one of Africa’s largest digital financial services platforms.

The planned listing is also significant for London’s capital markets. Reuters reported that Airtel Africa plans to list the mobile money business later in 2026, while the Financial Times reported that the IPO could potentially value Airtel Money at around $10 billion and raise approximately $1.5 billion.

The company had previously targeted an earlier listing window but later shifted expectations to the second half of 2026. Its latest announcement confirms that London remains its preferred venue.

While Airtel Money is preparing for a potential IPO, Airtel Africa’s core telecoms business is also expanding.

The company’s total customer base increased 11.6% to 189 million, while data customers grew 15.5% to 87.3 million. Smartphone penetration rose to 51%, up from 45.8% a year earlier.

That increase in smartphone adoption is driving heavier data consumption. Average monthly data usage per customer rose from 7.8 GB to 10.6 GB over the past year, contributing to a 56.3% increase in total data traffic across the network.

The result was a 10.3% increase in constant-currency data average revenue per user (ARPU).

For telecom operators across Africa, this shift is important. As smartphones become more affordable and digital services expand, data is increasingly replacing voice as the primary driver of customer engagement and revenue growth.

Airtel Africa’s results reflect that transition. Mobile services revenue grew 19.1% in constant currency, with voice revenue increasing 11.2% and data revenue rising 27.2%.

The company recorded double-digit constant-currency growth across its major regions, including East Africa, Francophone Africa, and Nigeria. Nigerian revenue grew 29.8% in constant currency, partly reflecting the full impact of tariff adjustments implemented in the previous financial year.

Airtel Africa’s revenue increased 31% in reported currency to $1.853 billion for the quarter. On a constant-currency basis, revenue grew 21.1%.

EBITDA rose 36.6% in reported currency to $928 million, while constant-currency EBITDA increased 24.4%. Its EBITDA margin improved by 206 basis points year-on-year to 50.1%.

The improvement comes as the company continues its cost optimisation programme. However, Airtel Africa warned that higher energy costs linked to geopolitical developments could increase inflationary pressure and weigh on margins in the near term.

Profit after tax rose to $198 million from $156 million in the comparable period. The company also recorded a $6 million derivative and foreign exchange loss, compared with a $22 million gain in the previous period.

Profit was further affected by a $37 million exceptional finance cost linked to an in-principle settlement in a commercial dispute involving one of the group’s subsidiaries.

Despite these pressures, basic earnings per share (EPS) increased to 4.4 cents from 3.4 cents. EPS before exceptional items rose from 3.4 cents to 5.4 cents.

Airtel Africa is also accelerating its network investments.

The company spent $389 million on capital expenditure during the quarter, up from $121 million in the prior period. It added more than 920 sites, its highest first-quarter rollout, and expanded its fibre network to 82,100 kilometres.

The investment is aimed at improving network quality, capacity, and coverage as more customers move online and consume more data.

The company says it is investing ahead of demand rather than waiting for network pressure to build. This strategy could be particularly important as smartphone adoption increases and digital services such as streaming, e-commerce, fintech, and cloud-based applications drive higher data consumption across African markets.

The board has also approved a share buyback programme covering up to 1% of the company’s issued share capital. By June 30, Airtel Africa had bought back approximately 10.2 million shares for $46.6 million.

For CEO Sunil Taldar, the company’s growth is increasingly tied to digital adoption.

“We have started this year with another pleasing performance,” Taldar says. “Our continued focus on the customer experience translated into accelerating customer base growth across all business segments. As we continue to digitise our business, we are streamlining customer journeys, increasing digital adoption, and harnessing data and AI to improve service delivery and support a strong, sustainable growth profile.”

The broader picture is clear: Airtel Africa is becoming less dependent on traditional telecoms revenue.

Its telecoms network provides the infrastructure, but the fastest-growing opportunities are increasingly in data and financial services. Airtel Money’s planned London listing could give the business capital and visibility to expand further, while allowing investors to value it separately from the wider telecoms group.

The success of that strategy will depend on whether Airtel can sustain customer growth, keep data and mobile money services affordable, and manage the infrastructure and energy costs associated with operating across multiple African markets.