Our sustainability strategy
Transforming lives
We are committed to providing Africa with safe, reliable and resilient telecoms to drive economic growth and development.
Our sustainability strategy
Transforming lives
We are committed to providing Africa with safe, reliable and resilient telecoms to drive economic growth and development.
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By continuing to deliver on its sustainability strategy, Airtel Africa will ensure that positive impacts go hand-in-hand with the business growth it can achieve by meeting the extraordinary demand for connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Annika Poutiainen
Board member and sustainability champion
Airtel Africa’s sustainability strategy and update on progress
We aim to transform lives across Africa through increased digital and financial inclusion and access to essential educational resources. Our sustainability strategy sets out clear operational, social and environmental goals that help us deliver this vision.
Ensuring business growth and sustainability go hand-in-hand
For Airtel Africa’s customers, and for the millions of people still excluded from the digital economy, access to voice, data and financial services are not just an opportunity – they are a necessity. Creating and enhancing that access is – and always has been – how Airtel Africa transforms lives.
Airtel Africa’s sustainability strategy helps achieve this purpose by embedding positive impacts into every aspect of the company’s overall business strategy. There are examples of progress in 2024/25 throughout this Annual Report – such as the expansion of Airtel Money’s customer base to 44.6 million, of whom over 44% are women or the additional 850 network sites added in underserved rural areas.
These advances for customers are underpinned by commitments to people, communities and the environment. To give stakeholders a full and transparent account of progress and challenges in all these areas Airtel Africa also publishes a separate Sustainability Report. The following pages in this Annual Report aim to give a snapshot of the wider disclosures to be found in the Sustainability Report 2025.
Alongside strategic progress, this year saw an important milestone: in June 2024, Airtel Africa plc launched the Airtel Africa Foundation as its dedicated philanthropic arm. The Foundation will drive initiatives in education, digital and financial inclusion, environmental protection and socio-economic development, with a focus on rural and underserved communities.
The Board and everyone at Airtel Africa can be proud of what has been achieved so far. We know that this work is not complete, however. By continuing to deliver on its sustainability strategy, Airtel Africa will ensure that positive impacts go hand-in-hand with the business growth it can achieve by meeting the extraordinary demand for connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa – and that Airtel Africa continues to transform lives.
Sustainability KPIs
Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions
134,021
tCO2e
(128,503 in 2023/24)
Total energy consumption
448,050,273
kWh
(434,373,723* in 2023/24)
* During the year, the methodology for calculating energy consumption was revised and this metric adjusted from 244,458,353 KWh
Population covered by mobile network
81.2%
(80.4% in 2023/24)
Gender balance
29.2%
(28.3% in 2023/24)
For our Sustainability Report 2025, see www.airtel.africa
Our sustainability strategy framework
We continue to implement our sustainability goals and targets to minimise our impact on the environment and maximise the positive impact we bring to individuals, families and communities across the African continent.
Our business
We’re building Africa’s digital future. By delivering secure, high-quality and resilient telecoms and financial services, we’re helping unlock economic opportunity, strengthen social infrastructure and support inclusive development across the continent.
Our people
Our people are the driving force behind our success, and we’re building a workforce ready to shape Africa’s digital future. We are committed to a diverse, inclusive and safe working environment that supports continuous learning and leadership development, especially for women and underrepresented groups.
Our community
We’re closing the connectivity gap and creating real impact where it’s needed most. By expanding access to mobile money, digital tools and education, we empower individuals and communities to participate fully in the digital economy while building resilience and taking control of their futures.
Our environment
We recognise our responsibility to minimise environmental impact as we grow. Through our ambition to reduce emissions while adopting clean energy and improving circular economy practices, we ensure that our operations contribute to a more sustainable and climate-resilient Africa.
Statement of commitment
We recognise our responsibility in climate change mitigation, environmental protection, corporate governance, human rights and community development. We report our progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and remain committed to upholding the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). We remain wholly committed to maintaining and upholding responsible business practices guided by appropriate internal governance, the Sustainability Committee (a Board sub-committee) and oversight from the Board of directors.
Our Sustainability Report 2025 has been developed by the head of sustainability and published separately on our website at www.airtel.africa. The report reflects our commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and highlights our achievements, challenges and programmes that positively impact the environment and communities in which we operate. To maintain best practices in transparency and accountability, the report also aligns with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, the GSMA’s recommendations for the telecoms industry, London Stock Exchange (LSE) ESG guidelines and the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD).
Transforming lives in action
Rwanda: transforming lives through digital inclusion
We know that access to digital services can unlock opportunity and help drive growth for whole economies as well as individuals – but we also know that affordability and lack of coverage can be challenging barriers to connection. Across our markets we aim to drive digital inclusion by making digital services more accessible to more people – both by expanding our 4G and 5G networks, and by making smartphone ownership and use an affordable reality.
Alongside improving the coverage, quality and price of our data products, in many markets we work with manufacturers and handset financing companies on programmes that help make smartphones more affordable. In Rwanda, we’ve gone a step further, building on a transformational digital partnership with the Rwandan government aimed at accelerating smartphone use and digital inclusion that in its second year has seen smartphone ownership increase by 52%.
The programme began in October 2023 when we partnered with the government’s ConnectRwanda 2.0 initiative, which set out to provide more than a million Rwandans with high-speed, cutting-edge LTE smartphones by the end of 2024, supported by a generous contribution by Reed Hastings, co-founder and Chairman of Netflix. The affordable smartphones were distributed with Airtel Africa SIM cards and tailored data packages. At the same time, we secured a 4G licence so that we could modernise our network to boost data capacity and fast-tracked the rollout of voice over LTE (VoLTE), which improves network quality and connection speed.
By November 2024, we’d achieved 95% 4G coverage in Rwanda, and become the first operator to offer VoLTE, activating a million VoLTE users within the first 30 days. Smartphone penetration in Rwanda has increased from 33.7% to 51.9% – showing the power of partnerships that draw on our business and sustainability strategy to overcome barriers and bridge the digital divide.
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Across our markets we aim to drive digital inclusion by making digital services more accessible to more people – both by expanding our 4G and 5G networks, and by making smartphone ownership and use an affordable reality.
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Emmanuel Hamez
Managing director, Airtel Rwanda
95%
total population covered by 4G network
(+9.4% vs 2023/24)
Transforming lives in action
Tanzania: working with the government to accelerate connections
Rural communities are among the most underserved when it comes to financial and digital inclusion – which is why we work alongside governments and other partners in our markets to extend coverage and connect the unconnected. In Tanzania, the government has driven policies and programmes that extend telecoms services across the countryside, and we have worked with the government’s Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF) to help bridge the divide to even the most remote villages. Through UCSAF’s work since 2009, 91% of the population is connected to digital services.
Since 2012, Airtel Tanzania has actively engaged in 18 UCSAF tenders, successfully securing project contracts worth approximately $23.3m. These funds have facilitated the construction of 404 telecom sites, improving connectivity for thousands of Tanzanians. In particular, for the government financial year ending June 2024, Airtel Tanzania contributed $4.4m as a service levy, emphasising its impressive commitment to universal service obligations.
81%
total population covered by 4G network in Tanzania
$4.4m
contribution as a service levy