Airtel Africa’s mobile money division, Airtel Money, is now processing transactions at an annualized rate of $193 billion, underscoring its emergence as one of the continent’s most powerful fintech engines. This milestone, revealed alongside the company’s H1 2025 financial results, has prompted Airtel to confirm its intention to publicly list Airtel Money in the first half of 2026.
The announcement by CEO Sunil Taldar signals more than just corporate strategy, it reflects a broader transformation sweeping across African tech. Telecom giants like Airtel are increasingly carving out their high-growth fintech units to unlock shareholder value and reshape the continent’s financial services landscape.
In a statement, CEO Sunil Taldar remarked:
Our strategy has been focused on providing a superior customer experience and the strength of these results is testament to the initiatives that we have been implementing across the business. The strength of our revenue performance – up 24.5% in constant currency – and further cost efficiency initiatives has continued to support a further increase in EBITDA margins to 49% in Q2’26…
Airtel Africa’s performance for the six months ending September 30, 2025, highlights the growing dominance of its digital services. Group revenue rose 24.5% year-on-year to $2.9 billion, but it was the fintech segment that stood out:
- Fintech Revenue Growth: Up 30.2% in constant currency.
- Customer Base: Expanded 20% to reach 49.8 million users.
- Total Processed Value (TPV): Surged 35.9%, reaching an annualised rate of $193 billion.
- ARPU (Average Revenue Per User): Increased by 11%, reflecting deeper user engagement.
“Airtel Money continues to gain momentum,” said Taldar. “The preparation for the IPO remains on course.”
This growth is built on the backbone of Airtel’s data infrastructure. For the first time, data revenue has overtaken voice revenue as the group’s largest contributor. The data customer base grew 18.4% to 78.1 million, supported by rising smartphone penetration, now at 46.8%. This shift marks Airtel’s evolution from a traditional telecom provider to a digital infrastructure powerhouse, with Airtel Money as its flagship service.
A Pan-African Fintech Revolution
Airtel’s strategy mirrors that of its closest competitor, MTN Group, based in Johannesburg. MTN’s H1 2025 results reveal a similar trajectory:
- Fintech Revenue Growth: Up 37.3%, outpacing all other segments.
- Advanced Services: Lending, insurance, and merchant payments now make up 33.4% of total MoMo revenue, growing 42% year-on-year.
- User Base: MTN’s MoMo platform serves 63.2 million users.
MTN is actively separating its fintech operations to unlock value, with its unit currently valued at $5.2 billion. Strategic moves include:
- External Investment: Payments giant Mastercard is lined up for a minority stake, validating the unit’s standalone potential.
- Market-Specific Spinoffs: MTN is creating independent financial entities in markets like Ghana and Uganda, aligning with national payment regulations. Progress in Nigeria is slower but strategically aligned.
The upcoming IPO of Airtel Money is poised to be a watershed moment for African fintech. It will test investor appetite for large-scale, infrastructure-backed digital finance platforms and likely set valuation benchmarks across the ecosystem, from startups to incumbents.
Airtel’s planned $900 million capital expenditure signals its intent to defend and expand its dual dominance: owning both the data infrastructure and the most-used financial service on that infrastructure.
The H1 2025 results from Airtel and MTN are more than financial updates, they mark the beginning of a new era. The next wave of major African tech IPOs may not come from venture-backed startups, but from $100-billion-plus fintech machines emerging from within the continent’s telecom giants. Africa’s tech incumbents have awakened. And they’re building the future from the inside out.
