Our people
Our people are at the core of our business model and strategy. They help us create value by enhancing customer experience, delivering reliable and high-quality services, driving innovation, and facilitating our partnerships. Engaged, talented employees and our ‘We are Airtel Africa’ culture give us a competitive advantage and contribute to our business resilience. Failing to engage and motivate employees would create risks around performance, recruitment and retention, which could hamper our growth. We’re focused on listening to our people and making Airtel Africa a great place to work for our 4,512 full-time permanent employees in 18 countries.
How we engage
- Regular CEO messages and ExCo Group updates
- Town halls at Group and OpCo level
- One-to-one meetings as part of our open-door policy
- Employee engagement survey conducted once every two years
- Employee recognition and appreciation programmes
- HR roadshows, employee wellness initiatives and business reviews
- Employee-Board ‘connect sessions’
Interests and concerns
- Career growth
- Learning and development, including access to training and opportunities in different roles and locations
- The cost of living
- Community support, including opportunities to support local people in education, health and disaster relief
Key outcomes and actions
- Our defined performance and reward system which includes promoting internally and giving people roles where they can grow skills and capabilities
- A one-off share award (subject to conditions) to all team members in 2025
- Learning programmes, in-person or online, under the Airtel Academy
- The ‘Africa mobility’ programme and job rotation schemes
- A flagship Africa-India initiative conducted by our global talent accelerator programme
- Employee health and wellbeing programmes, our employee assistance programme, and medical and life insurance
- Voluntary attrition rate of 8.2%, vs 10.4% in 2024/25
Board oversight
- Quarterly CEO-led town halls in English and French
- Remuneration Committee updates on remuneration, people, culture, conduct and diversity
- Quarterly HR presentations to the Board
- Quarterly reports from the HR Forum and Remuneration Forum chair to the Remuneration Committee
- Employee engagement survey and regular pulse results
- Regular ExCo visits
- Sunil Bharti Mittal is our designated Board director for employee engagement
- More on how the Board manages culture
Our communities
The communities in the 14 African countries where we do business provide our customer base and our talent pool. Failing to respond to our communities’ interests and concerns could risk damage to our reputation, the loss of goodwill, and missed business or sustainable development opportunities.
How we engage
- Face-to-face meetings, letters, emails, text messages, social media campaigns, and traditional media activity
- Employee volunteering opportunities, corporate sustainability activities, and company donations
- Sports events in 2025/26 including Airtel Kokowa, a traditional wrestling tournament, and the Kabaka Birthday Run
Interests and concerns
- Greater connectivity through increased network coverage
- Opportunities in areas including education and financial services
- Responsible business operations and support for environmental initiatives, and in some cases, disaster relief
Key outcomes and actions
- Expansion of our network and distribution infrastructure, and our investment in reliability and quality
- Advocacy for education, provision of tax-free access to government-approved educational websites and online platforms, and connecting schools to the internet
Board oversight
- Regular reports from the CEO and sustainability team
- Presentations by regional and country management teams
Our customers
Enhancing customer experience is central to our strategy. Our 183.5 million customers drive revenue, influence product development, and shape our brand reputation. Failing to meet the needs of customers could lead to loss of market share and revenues.
How we engage
- Digital touchpoints, including MyAirtel app, unstructured supplementary services data (USSD), our contact centre, automated phone services, email and social media.
- Person-to-person at our 741 company owned retail outlets and our annual World Customer Service week
- Net promoter score (NPS) survey, satisfaction surveys, and insights from complaints data
Interests and concerns
- Trust, convenience and reliability
- Speed, uptime and accessibility of our network
- Data security
- Affordability and value for money
Key actions and outcomes
- Targeted actions across network optimisation, customer service and product simplification
- Focus on enhancing digital self-service capabilities and refining customer care
- Launch in August 2025 of ‘new look’ stores to provide a more engaging, premium customer experience
Board oversight
- Regular CEO and CFO reports for insights at regional, country and sector levels
Partners and suppliers
Our 2,700 suppliers across Africa include mobile brands, IT companies and telecoms infrastructure providers. Failing to nurture new and existing relationships could constrain our ability to deliver reliable services for customers and execute our strategy.
How we engage
- Group- and OpCo-level governance meetings, commercial meetings and, where necessary, grievance meetings
- Annual chief supply chain officer meeting with strategic vendors, supplemented by annual ESG roundtable
- Key suppliers engaged at the MWC event in Barcelona in March 2026 and at the AfricaCom conference in Cape Town in November 2025
- Site visits, technical working groups and collaborative planning workshops
Interests and concerns
- Volume planning, rate renegotiations and delivery adherences
Key outcomes and actions
- Discussions of sales and project plans, bids and proposals, and ways to expand collaboration
- Co-designing and planning important infrastructure projects, and reaching agreements on payment terms
Board oversight
- CEO’s monthly Board report
- Board presentations from the chief supply chain officer and the sustainability team
Governments and regulators
Governments and regulators set out the policy and legal framework in which we operate based on their expectations and ambitions for the telecoms sector. Failure to comply with these frameworks could lead to sanctions, penalties, reputational damage and ultimately the loss of our licence to operate. Supporting the development ambitions of governments enables us to pursue growth.
How we engage
- Continuous two-way dialogue; with formal channels used for serious and material issues
- Local and international industry associations, including the GSMA
- Multi-country engagement programme in August 2025 by the chair and CEO included meetings with senior members of government
Interests and concerns
- Digital transformation, financial inclusion and infrastructure development
- Network coverage in rural areas
- Tax collection, new levies and enforcement actions
- Quality of service (QoS) and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance
- Fraud, including SIM-card-related fraud and unsolicited spam communications
Key outcomes and actions
- Continuous and proactive engagement
- Evidence-based advocacy through industry coalitions and GSMA’s platforms
- Targeted capital investment to meet QoS and compliance expectations
- Constructive dialogue to mitigate regulatory risk while supporting national policy objectives
- Technology-driven fraud mitigation measures including AI- and machine-learning-enabled fraud detection
Board oversight
- Monthly reports on material regulatory developments through CEO’s monthly update
- Updates from the Regulatory Committee, our Group company secretary, and regional directors
Shareholders
Our shareholders’ investments enable us to deliver our strategy and create long-term value for all stakeholders. Any loss of trust or credibility with shareholders would undermine our ability to invest for growth and, ultimately, prevent us from doing business.
How we engage
- Detailed quarterly financial statements, Annual Report, press releases and our corporate website
- Live conference calls and presentations at results announcements
- Ad hoc meetings and calls, including virtual and in-person meetings with senior management
- Proactive engagement with sell-side equity research community
- Virtual and in-person AGM
- Direct engagement by committee chairs with major investors
Interests and concerns
- Growth outlook
- EBITDA margin outlook
- Capital expenditure outlook
- Shareholder returns
- IPO of Airtel Money
Key outcomes and actions
- Focused execution on achieving growth through new business opportunities and accelerating investment
- Focus on cost efficiencies
- Continued migration of debt to local currency to reduce FX exposure
- Consistent delivery of dividend growth and share buy-back
Board oversight
- A monthly, detailed report on shareholder engagement, interests and concerns, including:
- Detailed analysis of consensus expectations
- An update on the composition of the shareholder register
- Research published by sell-side analysts
- Presentations by corporate brokers
Media
Engaging actively and transparently with the media helps us reach customers, highlight our work in promoting digital and financial inclusion, and build and protect stakeholders’ trust. Failing to engage fully with the media could lead to missed opportunities and undermine market position.
How we engage
- Strong relationships with individual journalists and their media organisations at Group and OpCo levels
- Press releases, regular briefings, media roundtables, media toolkits and tours
- Our website Media Centre
Interests and concerns
- The progress and impact of our initiatives, financial performance, innovation and strategy
- Innovations such as our AI spam alert service, and our partnerships with UNICEF and Starlink
Key outcomes and actions
- Media roundtables with key journalists remained part of our quarterly engagements
Board oversight
- Regular updates on media feedback and coverage results
NGOs
NGOs are important partners in our work to transform lives, bringing grassroots expertise to help us deliver positive change, and helping build trust among other stakeholders. Engaging with NGOs helps us identify issues, build partnerships and co-create sustainability programmes.
How we engage
- Regular meetings, communications and events at OpCo level
- Joint co-created initiatives such as community investments or activities
- Third-party events and forums hosted by governments and other organisations
Interests and concerns
- Digital education, environmental conservation and empowerment
Key outcomes and actions
- We continue to monitor partnerships and their outcomes
Board oversight
- CEO and CFO reports
- Quarterly Board sustainability report
Our Board: Connectivity through active engagement
Board visits
- Our Board engaged with management teams and OpCos through Board and Committee meetings, OpCo presentations and selective in‑market visits, supporting oversight of strategy, culture and risk
- Our Chair, Sunil Bharti Mittal, visited OpCos in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, alongside visits by Ravi Rajagopal to Uganda and Kenya and Paul Arkwright to Nigeria, strengthening understanding of local operations and stakeholders
- These visits were complemented by regular in‑person and virtual engagement with OpCo leadership through Board and Committee meetings, including sessions held in our Dubai headquarters
Employee Connect
The Board had direct interactions with employees through the Employee Connect programme, comprising virtual sessions with cohorts across OpCos and HQ. These sessions provided insight into employee views on culture, wellbeing and ways of working, with feedback shared with management and informing Board discussions on people, culture and sustainability
Town halls
The Board engaged with employees through regular all‑employee town halls hosted by the CEO, including open Q&A sessions. Insights from these sessions were shared with the Board and informed discussions on culture, employee wellbeing and organisational priorities
Strategy
In setting and executing strategy, the Board considers its Section 172 responsibilities and embeds stakeholder interests and potential long‑term impacts into Board papers and decisions, informed by engagement with all of our stakeholders
Annual employee survey
The Board considered the results of the annual employee survey to understand employee sentiment and inform its oversight of culture and people priorities
Whistleblower hotline
Our Board receives regular reports on the Group’s whistleblowing hotline, including themes, usuage and outcomes. This enables it to oversee the effectiveness of speak‑up arrangements and ensure that concerns raised by employees and other stakeholders are appropriately investigated and addressed
OpCo engagement
The Board engaged with our OpCos through regular presentations by OpCo MDs and FDs and direct interaction with regional and functional leadership, including at the senior leadership conclave. This strengthens oversight of local performance, culture, risk and control environments across the Group
Sustainability
Our Board engaged on sustainability matters with a particular focus on stakeholder impacts, using updates and discussions to understand how environmental and social issues affect employees, customers, communities and long‑term value creation across the Group