Raghunath Mandava - Afrikan Heroes

Why Airtel Africa Divested From Airtel Money

February 9, 2021

Indications emerged that Airtel Africa decided to divest from Airtel Money by selling a minority stake in its mobile financial platform to raise cash which it needed in its expansionary drive across the continent. Airtel Africa has since last year embarked in internally raising funds from existing assets through assets offloading. A source at the company said that the company is actively pursuing the sale of the remaining owned tower sites that sit across several of our operating countries and the group is in discussions with various potential investors in relation to possible minority investments into Airtel Money.

“Discussions are ongoing between the parties and there can be no certainty that a transaction will be concluded or as to the final terms of any transaction,” the source said. Airtel did not disclose the amount it expects to raise. However, its revenues reached $291 million across its markets in 2020.

“Our mobile money customer base reached 21.5 million, up 29 percent over the previous period, with Airtel Money customers now representing 18 percent of our total customers, an increase of 2.5 percentage points,” the multinational said.

“Mobile money average revenue per user (ARPU) was up 5.1 percent to $1.7 (Sh187), driven by the increase in transaction values and a higher contribution from merchant payments, cash out, person-to-person transfer and recharge of mobile services through Airtel Money.”

It could be recalled that Airtel Africa paid N71.6 billion to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to renew its 900 and 1800 MHZ spectrum licence for the next 10 years.

Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava says that their current license was due to expire at the end of November 2021. He goes on to say that the Nigerian market is the “largest market and we remain focused on bridging the digital divide and expanding our broadband capability in the country.”

“On behalf of Airtel Nigeria and the Group, I would like to thank both the government of Nigeria and the NCC for their cooperation and support in this important process.” The new license is expected to remain valid until 30 November 2031.

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 Africa Net Profit Dips 21% on Year

February 3, 2021

Leading telecoms firm, Bharti Airtel Africa has reported a mixed result for the third quarter of 2020 with a net profit of $116 million which increased 12.6% on-year and 31.8% from the preceding quarter’s $88 million, on account of higher revenues and decrease in exceptional item expenses. Consolidated revenues grew quarter-on-quarter to $1,034 million, while average revenue per user (ARPU) increased from $2.8 to $2.9 in the October-December period, as per financial results released.

Raghunath Mandava, CEO, Airtel Africa said strong growth in revenue and earnings is partly due to “our continued delivery of strong customer growth in Q3, despite the introduction mid-December of additional customer registration requirements in Nigeria.”

“This has meant a temporary halt to the ability of all operators in the country to onboard new customers. But we are working closely with the government to ensure that all our subscribers provide their valid National Identification Numbers (NINs) and update their SIM registration records, such that disruption is minimised,” he said.

Mandava added that Airtel’s rollout into rural markets, along with robust customer growth, helped voice grow 10%, while data and mobile money continued to be growth engines, with over 30% growth. Data revenues grew 4.2% to $295 million while mobile money transaction value shot up 11.3% to $12,959. Data ARPU, however, declined marginally from $2.5 to $2.4.

Airtel’s subscriber base across 14 African countries grew 2.2% to 118.9 million, with increased penetration across mobile data and mobile money services. 2.5 million customers were added in Q3, the company said. As of December-end, Airtel had 21,460 active mobile money users and mobile money ARPU increased from $1.7 to $1.8. Data usage grew to 2.6 GB per user while voice usage per customer was 241 minutes. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at $485 million, up 14% on-quarter.

Even as the Covid-19 pandemic has had little impact the telco’s performance, Airtel remains vigilant about the new strains of the virus and further actions by governments to minimise contagion in our countries of operation.

“The opportunities for sustainable profitable growth from our underpenetrated markets for both mobile and mobile money services remain hugely attractive, and we are confident of continuing to deliver on our growth strategy,” Mandava said.

Speaking on other markets across the region, the CEO said that “we have a lower market share in Nigeria, Congo, DRC, Tanzania and Kenya. And our entire current focus is on these countries in order to grow, we are not looking at bidding for Ethiopia at this stage”. The company had said it that its nine-month reported revenue increased by 13.8% to $2.87 billion, with third quarter revenue up by 19.5%.

The company reported a slight decline in profit before tax to $482 million in the period to Dec. 31, 2020 from $501 million in the period to Dec. 31, 2019. It attributed the drop to a combination of higher finance costs and benefits from non-operating exceptional items in the prior period. Excluding the benefit of exceptional items and the one-off derivative gain in the prior period, profit before tax rose by 20.4%, it said.

The company said that its Nigerian subsidiary has collected national identity numbers from nearly half of its customers as part of a process to adhere to regulator demands to add valid National Identification Numbers to every SIM card registered in the country. It was working to verify the data, Mandava said.

“This could require a little bit more time and we will not be able to complete the full exercise, in which case, after all efforts if we don’t manage by Feb. 9 then we will, I am sure, discuss with the government and request for some extension,” he told reporters.

After Airtel Kenya’s merger with Telkom fell through, the company has “invested solo” on expanding its rural network as a way to compete with market leader Safaricom. “We are consistently gaining market share over the last few years, and we are growing quite handsomely in Kenya on our own,” Mandava said.

The company still sees voice as crucial to growth in the future, as huge swathes of the continent are still under-using their phones, as costs still remain high.

“We all need to work towards reducing these interconnected costs in some countries,” Mandava said. “The need for telecommunication is far higher, it’s a latent, inherent demand that exists, that we as operators are not fulfilling enough. And if you can do a good job of it, you can grow faster.”

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 Africa Shelves Interest in Ethiopian Bid

February 2, 2021

Airtel Africa will not participate in the long awaited bid for telecoms licensing in Ethiopia, focusing rather on growing in the markets where it already operates on the continent and will not bid for licenses in Ethiopia, where the nation of 110 million people is opening up its telecoms sector, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Raghunath Mandava has said.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, one of the last remaining closed telecoms markets on the continent, plans to sell a minority stake in state-owned Ethio Telecoms within nine months and is tendering for two new licences, a process that was expected to start last month.

But Airtel Africa Plc CEO said that the Africa-focused telecoms company sees more room to grow in the 14 countries it has already invested in, including in its biggest market in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation.

India’s telecom sector, in the efforts of enabling policies including more quantum of the spectrum, is set to establish new benchmarks in the next-generation network deployments and service delivery.

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 Africa Pays N71 Billion to Renew Spectrum License in Nigeria

January 30, 2021

To renew its its 900 and 1800 MHZ spectrum licence for the next 10 years, Africa’s second biggest telecommunications company, Airtel Africa has paid N71.6 billion to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).This was made known by the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava who said that their current license was due to expire at the end of November 2021. The new license is expected to remain valid until 30 November 2031.

Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava

He noted that the Nigerian market is the “largest market and we remain focused on bridging the digital divide and expanding our broadband capability in the country.”

“On behalf of Airtel Nigeria and the Group, I would like to thank both the government of Nigeria and the NCC for their cooperation and support in this important process.”

In a separate development, Nokia and Airtel Kenya have joined forces in a three-year deal to modernize Nairobi with high speed 4G and 5G-ready hardware. 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.

“We are in the midst of rolling out our 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,” says P. D. Sarma, CEO of Airtel Kenya.

“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.”

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

Standard Chartered Partners Airtel to Drive Financial Inclusion Across Africa

August 13, 2020

Global financial services giant, Standard Chartered Bank has entered into an agreement with Airtel Africa to co-create new, innovative products aimed at enhancing the accessibility of financial services. The strategic collaboration to drive financial inclusion across key markets in Africa by providing customers with increased access to mobile financial services. Through the collaboration, Standard Chartered and Airtel Africa will work together to co-create new, innovative products aimed at enhancing the accessibility of financial services and, ultimately, better serve people across Africa. In line with this, Airtel Money’s customers will be able to make real-time online deposits and withdrawals from Standard Chartered bank accounts, receive international money transfers directly to their wallets, and access savings products amongst other services.

Standard Chartered’s corporate clients will also be able to make rapid and secure bulk disbursements, such as payroll payments, directly into the Airtel Money customer’s wallet. This reduces the risks associated with travelling long distances for cash payments and instead customers can go to any Airtel Money agent, kiosk, or branch to cash-out their funds.

Commenting on the collaboration, Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa and Middle East said: “By collaborating with innovative organisations like Airtel Africa, we are accelerating our mobile and digital-led strategy to provide best in class financial services to Africa. Over the past year, Standard Chartered has rapidly launched digital banks across 9 countries on the continent, allowing our customers to enjoy seamless services from the safety of their homes even during the peak of the pandemic. This partnership will further enhance the ability of our customers to manage and move money safely and securely and create market-leading financial solutions across countries.”

Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank

The recent announcement is another step taken by Standard Chartered to further extend its reach and enhance its unique produce offering. By partnering with mobile wallet providers, the bank has expanded its network into markets where mobile wallets are prevalent, offer solutions that enable corporate and institutional clients to leverage the opportunities presented by mobile money, and enable efficient, scalable e-commerce and m-commerce solutions.

This partnership supports Airtel Africa’s efforts to expand the range and depth of its Airtel Money offerings across its 19 million customer base, with new products and services helping to promote the wider adoption of mobile money and increasing financial inclusion.

Raghunath Mandava, CEO, Airtel Africa, said: “Our relationship with Standard Chartered boosts financial inclusion across the continent, giving millions of people access to valuable banking services. We continue to invest heavily in cashing in and cashing out locations for our customers and increase our distribution. This means that our customers can now send or receive digital payments via Standard Chartered Bank directly to their mobile phones, as well as cash-out their funds at our exclusive kiosks and branches at their convenience. This highlights Airtel Africa’s commitment to providing affordable, innovative, best-in-class solutions to enhance the daily lives of our customers.” Mobile banking transfers between Airtel Money and Standard Chartered Bank now live in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Remaining products will be rolled out later this year subject to regulatory approvals.

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 Africa Launches Africa-wide Money Transfer Service Through Mukuru

July 25, 2020

Airtel Africa plc, a provider of telecommunications and mobile money services in 14 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Mukuru, one of Africa’s largest remittance organisations, have announced a partnership which will enable Mukuru customers to instantly send cross-border transfers directly to Airtel Money customer wallets in 12 African countries.

This partnership will be particularly beneficial for customers making intra-Africa payments from Southern Africa where Mukuru has a leading presence. Customers also benefit from no longer having to physically go to an Agent to receive cross-border payments.

Once Airtel Money customers receive the funds, they can be used to pay utility bills, goods and services, transferred to family or can be cashed out at any of Airtel Africa’s exclusive branches, kiosks and agents.

Raghunath Mandava, CEO, Airtel Africa, commented “This partnership empowers those without a bank account to be included in the formal financial ecosystem and to move money conveniently, seamlessly and securely. At a time when intra-Africa cross-border payments are of strategic importance, we are pleased to be working together on cross-country mobile money transfers, while also supporting local economies.”

Andy Jury, CEO, Mukuru, confirms: “This partnership exemplifies the collaborative spirit in which Mukuru is engaging with other industry leaders to provide universal access to cash and digital financial services across the continent. The enablement of digital money transfers between Mukuru and Airtel Africa customers means we can offer greater choice to the hardworking diaspora when providing for their families back home. The freedom to choose the solution best befitting your personal circumstances is pivotal to true economic empowerment.”

The partnership, subject to local regulatory approvals, will initially launch in Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It will then roll out to subsequent Airtel Money markets.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.

Airtel Africa Partners WorldRemit to Expand Network

July 23, 2020

Diasporan remittances and local money transfers have received a boost with the new partnership between Airtel Africa and WorldRemit aimed at expanding operations of Airtel Money to Rwanda in a bid to ensure availability of the products across countries such as DRC, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Niger. Airtel Money enables mobile money users to send local and international money transfers, make utility payments, pay merchants, save money in their mobile wallets, purchase airtime and access a range of mobile financial products.

WorldRemit will enable customers from across the globe to receive money into Airtel Money wallets. Users can use the free mobile app; choose Mobile Money and Airtel as the operator, then follow the prompts. Andrew Stewart, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at WorldRemit said that “the connection to more Mobile Money accounts through Airtel Africa allows us to expand our payout network and options available to customers across the continent. It is really exciting and important to us that we continue to increase financial inclusion for our customers in Africa whilst delivering a fast, affordable and secure service.”

Reacting to the partnership and the huge opportunities it offers, Raghunath Mandava, CEO of Airtel Africa, says, “we are committed to enhancing financial inclusion in the countries we operate through building a huge infrastructure of cashing in and cashing out locations in the markets and increasing our distribution. This means that our customers can now receive fast digital payments via WorldRemit from around the world directly to their mobile phones, as well as access their funds at our exclusive kiosks and branches at their convenience.”

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