Airtel mobile money transaction hits $116bn

 

Airtel Africa mobile money transaction value increased by 41.3 per cent with quarterly annualised transaction value of $116 billion.

During the last quarter of 2023, the operator’s total customer base grew by 9.1 per cent to 151.2 million.

The penetration of mobile data and mobile money services continued to rise, driving a 22.4 per cent increase in data customers to 62.7 million and a 19.5 per cent increase in mobile money customers to 37.5 million.

Announcing its results for the third quarter of 2023, Olusegun Ogunsanya, group chief executive officer of Airtel said the company has enjoyed strong operating performance and outlook of growth.

Ogunsanya also revealed that capital expenditure of $494 million was 8.2 per cent higher compared to the prior period.

Capex guidance for the full year remains between $800 million and $825 million as Airtel Africa continues to invest for future growth.

He disclosed that Airtel Africa intends to launch a 12-month share buy-back programme of up to $100 million, running for 12 months, starting early March.

 “We continue to be well positioned to deliver on the attractive growth opportunities our markets offer and despite the challenge of rising diesel prices, ongoing currency devaluation and inflationary pressures across some of our markets, we remain focused on margin resilience,” Ogunsanya.

A subsidiary of Bharti Aritel, the group operates mobile telecommunications services in 14 African countries, namely: Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Niger, Zambia, Gabon, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Seychelles and Madagascar.

 “We remain focussed on the execution of our growth strategy and, combined with our strong operational execution, this has ensured that we continue to see sustained, positive growth momentum across the business, despite the inflationary and currency headwinds,” Ogunsanya said.