Airtel crosses the 100 million subscribers in Africa to become second largest operator

Africa arm of Bharti Airtel, which operates across 14 countries, on Wednesday said it has crossed the 100-million customers mark. Airtel Africa claims to be the second-largest mobile operator in Africa in terms of number of active subscribers. [caption id=“attachment_5446821” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Representational image: Reuters[/caption] “Airtel Africa has crossed the 100-million subscriber mark. The positive momentum we have seen in customer acquisition further underpins our medium-term aspirations for revenue and profit growth,” Raghunath Mandava, chief executive officer of Airtel Africa, said in a statement. The growth in the Africa market mitigates the impact of challenge that the company is facing in India. From peak customer base of around 381 million in June 2017, subscriber base of Bharti Airtel has now dipped to 324 million in two years. During the same period, it gained around 20 million new customers in Africa operations. “Airtel Africa’s footprint is characterised by low but increasing mobile connectivity, with a unique user penetration at 43 per cent, highlighting the potential for growth across its footprint,” the statement said. The company said a combination of an under-penetrated telecom market, a young addressable population and rising smartphone affordability, along with low data penetration and an underbanked population, will drive the growth opportunities for the data and mobile money segments moving forward in Africa. “Airtel Africa’s footprint is characterised by low but increasing mobile connectivity, with a unique user penetration at 43 per cent, highlighting the potential for growth across its footprint,” the statement said.