Airtel Kenya - Afrikan Heroes

Airtel Money Breaks Off From Parent Company

July 23, 2022

Telecoms giant, Airtel Group has announced that its Kenyan subsidiary, Airtel Kenya will be splitting its mobile money business – Airtel Money – from its main company. Instead, Airtel Money will now be operating under the name ‘Airtel Money Kenya Limited’.

“Following this business separation, Airtel Money Kenya Limited will take over and continue the provision of the Airtel Money Services, in collaboration with the licensed telecommunications network of Airtel Networks Kenya Limited,” reads the announcement from Airtel.

Airtel says that customers that continue to use Airtel Money services agree that their personal information and accounts will still be shared between Airtel Money Kenya Limited and Airtel Networks Kenya Limited.

“The continued use of the Airtel Money Service shall be deemed as proof of the customer’s acceptance of the transfer of their Airtel Money Account and related Customer Data and or sharing of the Customer Data between Airtel Money Kenya Limited and Airtel Networks Kenya Limited,” the announcement states.

According to Kenyan publication TechWeez, Airtel Money is the country’s second-most popular mobile money platform after Safaricom’s payments powerhouse M-PESA, which enjoys a 99% market share.

Airtel’s mobile money division hasn’t been as impactful as the telecom it has split from in contrast. In June of this year, Airtel Kenya sold 25.77% of its Airtel Money business in shares in order to raise more capital for the company’s continued operations.

Airtel Kenya raised $550-million after the transaction, selling shares to four companies, namely Rise Fund (investing $200-million), followed by Qatar Holding LCC ($200-million), then Mastercard ($100-million) and finally Chimera Investment LLC ($50-million).

The group has conducted similar stake shedding in the past, with Airtel Africa ceding ownership of its mobile money stake in other African markets like Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia.

Airtel’s mobile money division has long languished in M-PESA’s shadow, seemingly unable to compete against Safaricom’s cash cow domestically. M-PESA currently generates more than half of Safaricom’s yearly revenues.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Airtel Kenya Agrees to $30-Million Settlement

March 12, 2022

Airtel Africa through its Kenyan subsidiary, Airtel Kenya has agreed to pay a $30-million settlement to the Kenyan government in order to move forward in the operator’s licensing renewal process in the country. The payment will see the telecom settle its dues to the Communications Authority of Kenya for its previous spectrum and operating licenses.

This agreement will see Airtel Kenya pay a total of $20-million in four installments over the next three years in respect of settlements regarding the 2015 – 2025 operating and spectrum license.

Airtel Kenya also agreed to pay a further $10-million to the Communications Authority for a new 10-year license in the country from 2022 onwards until the telecom will have to renew again in 2032.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

5G Rollout in Kenya Escalates as Airtel Upgrades 600 Sites

April 10, 2021

With the rollout of the 5G technology in Kenya a month ago, major telecoms companies are rushing to upgrade their equipment and sites to meet up with demands. To this end, Airtel Kenya has upgraded over 600 sites in Nairobi, Mombasa and Malindi to ensure that they are 5G ready – this comes shortly after rival telco, Safaricom, launched the first 5G commercial services in East Africa.

“These 600 sites are now 5G-ready. We don’t have to make any further modifications to the network. We will just get the spectrum and decide when to switch on,” says Prasanta Das Sarma, MD of Airtel Kenya.

According to Business Daily, the new 5G network will “give consumers Internet speeds of 700 megabits per second, more than three times faster than the current 4G network, allowing operators to offer an alternative service for homes and offices in areas which are not currently covered by its fibre network”.

Sarma also revealed that subscribers can hope to switch to the 5G network within one to two years, around the same time that the telco believes 5G devices will become more affordable.

“The 5G handsets right now are obviously very costly and see few buys. We feel that a reasonable price will start coming in one and a half to two years,” says Sarma. “That is the time we feel we will be able to switch on our 5G network. But if things happen faster, we are ready for it.”

Airtel Kenya began work on its 5G network last year. Since then, the deployment of future-proofed network infrastructure has been expected to cover hundreds of sites and include upgrading existing 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network (RAN) coverage in urban, semi-urban, highways, tourist spots and central business districts in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Kenya Readies for 5G Network as Nokia Partner to Lay 5G Foundations

November 30, 2020

The deployment of 5G network in Kenya is nearing a crucial stage with the laying of the foundation for the technology through a partnership between global telecoms manufacturing company, Nokia and Airtel Kenya. Both have joined forces in a three-year deal to modernize Nairobi with high speed 4G and 5G-ready hardware.

The deployment which began in June, will cover hundreds of sites and include upgrading existing 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network (RAN) coverage in urban, semi-urban, highways, tourist spots and central business districts in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya. Nokia’s future-proofed network infrastructure will also offer Airtel Kenya the option to smoothly transition to 5G when necessary. The upgraded network will deliver enhanced connectivity to customers of Airtel Kenya and access to new, high-speed data services.

Speaking on this development, the CEO of Airtel Kenya, P. D. Sarma said that they are in the midst of rolling out their network “to enhance coverage along with modernization of our data network that will help us to deliver improved, high-speed data services to our customers. This will allow our customers seamless coverage enhancing their browsing experience further,” “We are excited to partner with Nokia on this project. Its technology portfolio improves our network quality considerably and also allows us to move to 5G services in the future.”

Rajiv Aggarwal, Head of CEWA Market Unit at Nokia, believes this is “an exciting deal in an exciting market. We are proud to supply Airtel Kenya with our comprehensive AirScale portfolio and support the operator with its efforts to deliver the best possible connectivity experiences to end-users in Kenya. In a maturing market, we look forward to helping Airtel execute its strategy in the short-term as well as set it on the path to 5G services.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Kenya embarks on modernization of its 4G Network to be 5G ready

October 17, 2020

A partnership between Airtel and global telecoms equipment firm, Ericsson aims at modernizing the Fourth Generation (4G) telecoms network in Kenya has been penned. The telco signed a deal in August 2020 but was finalized last week is to enhance the quality of voice and data – this is expected to be done by leveraging Ericsson’s Radio System and Packet Core solutions. This project is also expected to make Kenya ready for 5G deployments.

“Robust and secure communications are an essential component of a digital society in Kenya. We are firmly anchored to the strategy of delivering reliable connections across the country and are looking forward to expanding the high-quality mobile broadband services to our subscribers,” says Prasanta Das Sarma, CEO of Airtel Kenya. Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says, “Together with Airtel, we will implement this project that aims to establish an advanced LTE network in Kenya, providing Airtel’s customers an enriched experience – both in the consumer and business segments.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Airtel Money Payments Partners Jumia in Kenya

September 30, 2020

Jumia’s Head of Financial Services, Nelly Movine

Africa’s leading e-commerce giant Jumia has partnered with Airtel Kenya in an agreement that will see consumers complete their online payment transactions using Airtel Money. Speaking on the development, Jumia’s Head of Financial Services, Nelly Movine said that “millions of Kenyans rely on mobile money daily to make fast payments. By expanding our payment options to include Airtel money, it will make it easier for more consumers to incorporate online shopping as part of their daily transactions.”

“We are delighted to be working with Jumia on this exciting partnership to enhance customer experience on the Jumia platform. We are committed to working with partners who are instrumental in promoting financial inclusion through our Airtel money services. This partnership will allow Airtel customers to shop conveniently online by using their Airtel Money wallet from wherever, at whatever time using their data enabled devices,” said Airtel Kenya, Managing Director, Prasanta Das Sarma.

Kenya is now the latest of the Jumia markets to have this payment option at checkout after Ghana and Uganda who use Airtel Money. This is a key partnership to drive the use of Airtel Money on key platforms like ecommerce. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people are shopping online. Contactless payments like mobile money are popular ways to pay for goods and services online and Airtel wants to make Airtel Money visible to its customers.

Airtel Kenya, Managing Director, Prasanta Das Sarma

When you want to use Airtel Money at checkout, enter your Airtel number when paying, get a USSD push, enter your Airtel Money PIN and hit send. This news follows the partnership between Airtel Money and Standard Chartered as well as MoneyGram last month which makes it viable to their customers.

As per the latest statistics from the Communications Authority of Kenya, Airtel Money has over 329,000 registered users who moved 351 million shillings between customers to business in the first 3 months of the year.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry