Highlights of the year
New Board and senior management appointments
This year, we welcomed Kamal Dua as an executive director and chief financial officer.
Tsega Gebreyes, who previously chaired the Remuneration Committee and served on the Nominations Committee, became senior independent non-executive director upon Andy Green’s retirement.
Cynthia Gordon succeeded Tsega as chair of the Remuneration Committee and joined the Nominations Committee.
We also appointed new managing directors and finance directors in several operating companies, enhancing our leadership capability through a diversity of skills and viewpoints.
Customer-centric strategy
Our strategy places our customers at its core. By prioritising exceptional customer experience, we aim to maintain sustainable revenue growth and fulfil our purpose of transforming lives across Africa.
To this end, we accelerated the adoption of AI and digital solutions across the business, delivering tangible improvements in customer experience and operational efficiency, including the successful rollout of AI‑enabled Know Your Client (KYC) solutions that has strengthened identity verification, reduced fraud and enhanced regulatory compliance and customer trust.
Airtel Money – digital focus
Our investment in resilient and reliable digital financial infrastructure such as Airtel Money’s platform has strengthened the continuity of transactions, payments and disbursements during periods of disruption. This reinforces our value as a provider of essential financial infrastructure across the markets in which we operate.
By funding expanding access to secure and affordable digital financial services, the Board helped Airtel Money deliver meaningful social impact through greater digital financial inclusion and economic empowerment.
Enhanced Board oversight of cybersecurity
Cybersecurity and information security risks continued to be recognised as principal risks and were regularly reviewed by the Board during the year. In light of the evolving threat landscape and regulatory expectations, the Board strengthened its oversight by increasing the frequency, depth and visibility of cyber‑related reporting through the Audit and Risk Committee, reinforcing Board‑level accountability, assurance over controls, and preparedness for incidents.
Innovative partnerships
Strategic infrastructure-sharing partnerships
- Announced a landmark agreement with Vodacom Group in August 2025 for infrastructure sharing in the DRC, Mozambique and Tanzania, enhancing digital inclusion in Africa
- Began sharing network infrastructure with MTN in Nigeria and Uganda in March 2025 promoting collaboration in telecoms
- Announced a groundbreaking partnership with SpaceX on 16 December 2025 for Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity across 14 markets, enhancing connectivity in areas without terrestrial coverage
- Began working with SpaceX in May 2025 to deliver next-generation satellite connectivity for enterprises and communities in rural Africa, including schools and health centres
Other significant partnerships
- Collaborations with leading device manufacturers to expand access to smartphones and digital services (see Francophone business review)
- Large-scale infrastructure partnerships, notably with Meta in the Republic of the Congo, significantly enhancing network capacity and resilience
- Technology and network modernisation partnerships, such as with Huawei in Chad
- Energy and infrastructure sustainability partnerships
- Airtel Money partnerships to transform healthcare access for vulnerable families through AFAFI (Antoka ho an’ny Fahasalamàn’ny FIanakaviana) in Madagascar
- Partnerships with public institutions and development organisations delivering strong social impact
Risk factors
We navigated regulatory changes connected to licensing, SIM-card registration and data protection, which increased our compliance workload. Heightened regulatory scrutiny across markets, including Uganda’s coverage obligations and Tanzania’s 5G rollout, posed additional risks.
We focused on managing climate-related disruptions such as severe weather affecting operations in East Africa and drought impacting Zambia’s electricity grid. Political events also introduced operational challenges, with election cycles causing internet shutdowns in Tanzania and Uganda.
External Board evaluation
We conducted a comprehensive externally facilitated Board evaluation – see more in the Board performance section.
Initiating an audit tender process
We began a formal, independent and competitive tender process for the role of external auditor, overseen by the Audit and Risk Committee. A resolution to appoint the successful firm will be proposed to the shareholders at the 2027 Annual General Meeting, with the selected auditor expected to perform our audit for the financial year ending 31 March 2028.
Share buy-back programme
On 23 December 2024, we announced a second share buy-back programme to return up to $100m to shareholders.
During the year ended 31 March 2026, the company has bought back 26.2 million shares at a price of $71m.
Our people and culture
Embedding a values‑led culture
We continued to strengthen a shared culture that promotes ownership, accountability and inclusion across the Group. By extending share ownership across the workforce, we strengthened the One Airtel identity and a culture of inclusion, ownership and shared success.
Our oversight focused on how culture is embedded through leadership behaviours, ways of working and local practices, informed by regular management updates and direct engagement with employees through Board‑led “Employees Connect” sessions and town halls, enabling us to understand how our values are lived in practice across our operating companies.
Using reward and leadership to reinforce culture
Through the Remuneration Committee, we reviewed remuneration and incentive structures to ensure they reinforce the desired culture and support long‑term value creation, including the use of non‑financial measures linked to leadership effectiveness and behaviours aligned with our values. In parallel, we monitored succession planning, leadership development and diversity outcomes to support a sustainable pipeline of leaders who role‑model the “One Airtel” culture.