Principal risks and mitigation
Alignment with our strategy
Strengthen ‘go-to-market’
Brilliant network experience
Must win markets
Digitise and simplify
Accelerate Airtel Money
Scale HBB and enterprise
Strategic risks
1. Adverse competition and market disruption
Description of risk
We operate in an increasingly competitive environment across our markets and segments, particularly with respect to pricing and market share. Aggressive competition by existing players or the entry of a new player could put a downward pressure on prices, adversely affecting our revenue and margins, as well as our profitability and long-term survival. The nature and level of the competition we face varies for each of our markets, products and services.
How we mitigate this risk
- Ongoing monitoring of competitive landscape and competitor activities.
- Emphasis on customer experience, affordability, product penetration and development of our product portfolio.
- The continued growth of our Airtel Money business and the increased use of Airtel Money services by our mobile services customers help to increase customer ‘stickiness’ on our network.
- Simplifying customer experience through self-care and other applications across several customer touchpoints.
Key developments in 2025/26
- Continued investment in delivering exceptional customer experience through the launch of innovative and differentiated offerings, including an AI-powered spam alert service, home broadband (HBB) services, handset subsidy programmes, and network experience monitoring tool.
- Continued digitisation and simplification of customer journeys across our products and services to enhance customer experience and strengthen brand loyalty.
- Strategic partnership with SpaceX to launch Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity across our markets to provide voice, messaging and data in remote areas without terrestrial telecommunication coverage.
Risk appetite
Open
Risk owners
Chief marketing and sales officer
2. Digitalisation and innovation
Description of risk
Failure to innovate through simplifying the customer experience and developing adequate digital touchpoints in line with changing customer needs and the competitive landscape could lead to loss of customers and market share.
How we mitigate this risk
- Rollout of digital apps and selfcare channels to simplify customer experience.
- Airtel Africa’s Digital Labs focus on developing cutting-edge digital solutions to address customer needs and solve complex problems using the latest technologies.
- Simplifying our core IT systems and integration capabilities to allow for faster deployment of new products and services and integration with third-party applications.
Key developments in 2025/26
- Strengthened Digital Labs as a core innovation engine, delivering advanced analytics, automation, AI-driven use cases and scalable in-house platforms to address complex customer and business challenges.
- Simplified and modernised our core IT architecture and integration frameworks, reducing system complexity and accelerating time-to-market for new products and services.
- Streamlined the engagement model between our IT/engineering teams and digital product teams to enhance digital products time-to-market and expand rollout of digital applications and self-care channels across our markets.
Risk appetite
Open
Risk owners
Chief information officer and chief marketing and sales officer
3. Geopolitical risks and adverse macroeconomic conditions
Description of risk
Global geopolitical tensions and changes in macroeconomic conditions have the potential to impact our business both directly and indirectly. These impacts include potential increases in the cost of our inputs and negative effects on the disposable incomes of our customers, which could, in turn, affect sales and profitability. In recent times, we have observed heightened uncertainty surrounding global trade policies and the realignment of the global trade order. This has led to the imposition of tariffs and counter-tariffs between various trading nations, resulting in higher prices for consumers and increased input costs for producers. The cumulative impact of these macroeconomic risks reduces disposable income and demand for our products and services, while intensifying cost pressures and weighing on Group profitability.
More recently, the war in Iran has resulted in a sharp increase in global fuel prices and fuel shortages in some countries impacting the cost of related products and services such as airline tickets, shipping and insurance. This has created direct cost pressures for the Group while also potentially having a negative impact on the disposable income of the customers we serve.
How we mitigate this risk
- Improving the overall resilience of our business through effective strategic investment, an optimal operating model and a solid financial base.
- Building resilience through our supply chain to minimise potential disruptions.
- Ongoing monitoring of external environment and macroeconomic trends to ensure adequacy of risk response plans.
- Continuous cross-industry engagement on key policy matters.
Key developments in 2025/26
- We continued to monitor geopolitical developments and assess their direct and indirect impacts on the business to mitigate adverse consequences.
- Our operating model and supply chain processes were kept under continuous review to identify cost optimisation opportunities and mitigate the risk of supply chain disruption.
- We continued to invest in renewable energy sources, in line with our sustainability strategy to mitigate against fuel price volatility.
Risk appetite
Flexible
Risk owners
Chief financial officer, chief supply chain officer and chief regulatory officer
Operational risks
4. Cyber and information security threats
Description of risk
Cybersecurity threats through internal or external sabotage or system vulnerabilities could potentially result in customer data breaches and/or service downtimes. Like any other business, we’re increasingly exposed to the risk that third parties or malicious insiders may attempt to use cybercrime techniques, including distributed denial of service attacks, to disrupt the availability, confidentiality and integrity of our IT systems. This could disrupt our key operations, make it difficult to recover critical services and damage our assets.
How we mitigate this risk
- Security posture assessments and control gap review across the technology stack to identify security solutions and tools to address inherent and emerging risks.
- Security assessments covering technology infrastructure and applications to identify security risks on a continual basis.
- Cybersecurity awareness programmes, including mock exercises such as phishing simulations to evaluate preparedness of employees and effectiveness of security tools.
- Introduction of customer security awareness initiatives.
Key developments in 2025/26
- Successful completion of SOC 2 Type 1 and ISAE 3402 Type 1 certification assessments for our Airtel Money business, reinforcing our commitment to robust internal controls and adherence to global security standards.
- Annual surveillance certification for ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 across the whole Group, and PCI DSS certification for SmartCash PSB in Nigeria.
- Continued enhancement of our defence-in-depth strategy through the implementation of security tools to address current and emerging threats, ongoing monitoring and assessment of all critical assets and the strengthening of key controls.
Risk appetite
Averse
Risk owners
Chief information officer
5. Supply chain disruptions
Description of risk
Supply chain disruptions, whether affecting the Group directly or its key suppliers and partners, have the potential to materially impact our ability to deliver products and services, increase operating costs and negatively affect profitability. Risks arising from disruptions across global supply chains whether driven by geopolitical instability, trade restrictions, natural disasters or logistical constraints can cascade through our supply chain and affect our operational continuity. Most notably, the conflict in Iran, which has resulted in a blockage of the critical Strait of Hormuz, has driven a sharp rise in global crude oil prices. This has led to increased fuel prices and, in certain countries, fuel shortages, as well as higher shipping costs driven by rising freight and insurance rates. These developments place upward pressure on our operating costs, with potential negative implications for profitability. Additionally, they pose a challenge to our operational resilience as we work to prevent and manage any disruptions arising from the direct and indirect effects of this conflict.
The situation is further compounded by any concentration risk within our supplier base, which may amplify the impact of any single disruption and limit our ability to source alternative suppliers at short notice or at comparable cost.
How we mitigate this risk
- Continuous review and strengthening of procurement processes and contractual arrangements to improve overall supply chain resilience.
- Active monitoring of supply chain for vulnerabilities and diversifying supplier base accordingly.
- Strategic planning and design of technical infrastructure to introduce resilience and business continuity capabilities.
- Ongoing inventory management especially for critical components.
Key developments in 2025/26
- To mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices, we’ve continued implementing our long-term sustainability strategy, increasing our renewable energy solutions through investment in solar and battery solutions and transitioning diesel generator-dependent sites to the electricity grid.
- Continuous review of our supplier base to identify alternative suppliers, especially for critical services to improve business resilience.
Risk appetite
Flexible
Risk owners
Chief supply chain officer
6. Leadership succession planning
Description of risk
We need to continually identify and develop successors for key leadership positions across our organisation to ensure minimal disruption to the execution of our corporate strategy. Our ability to execute our business strategy depends in large part on the efforts of our key people. In some of the countries in which we operate, there is a shortage of skilled telecommunications professionals. Any failure to successfully recruit, train, integrate, retain and motivate key skilled employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, the results of our operations, financial condition and prospects.
How we mitigate this risk
- Leadership development planning through skills and competency assessments for critical roles.
- Regular updates to succession plans at OpCo and Group level, including calibrating and assessing talent pipelines through the Group talent council.
- Long- and short-term incentives for retention of high-performing talent.
- Talent mapping a larger talent pool across Africa, Asia and Europe to meet current and future business needs.
- Inclusion of succession plans in leadership KPIs across the Group.
Key developments in 2025/26
- Leadership pipeline governance was enhanced through a more structured, data-driven approach to leadership development, including targeted skills and competency assessments for critical roles, enabling clearer visibility of readiness gaps and more focused development prioritisation.
- Through the talent exchange programme, the Group strengthened technical expertise and leadership capability, positioning the business to meet current and future requirements.
- Our Airtel Africa mobility programme deepened leadership strength across the OpCos through cross-market exposure and accelerated development, improving succession readiness and continuity in critical roles.
Risk appetite
Cautious
Risk owners
Chief human resources officer
7. Financial services platform resilience
Description of risk
The resilience of our financial services platform is fundamental to building and maintaining the trust of our customers, advancing financial inclusion and supporting socioeconomic growth across the markets in which we operate. Disruptions to platform availability whether caused by technical failures, cybersecurity incidents, third-party system outages or infrastructure constraints can result in service interruptions that undermine customer trust, impact transaction processing and expose the Group to reputational and regulatory risk. This risk is further compounded by the increasing scale of our financial services business and the level of integration with other third-party products, services and platforms.
How we mitigate this risk
- Continued investment and refresh of our mobile financial services technology stack.
- Design and ongoing testing of our business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities to minimise the impact of disruptions.
- Active monitoring of platform performance and reliability indicators.
Key developments in 2025/26
- Accelerated modernisation of the core financial platform and infrastructure reduced legacy risk and improved scalability, supporting continued financial inclusion growth.
- Business continuity was strengthened through expanded near and far disaster recovery capabilities, including real-time data replication for critical applications.
- Our financial services ecosystem was expanded to thousands of integrated billers, supported by improved integration oversight and simplified architecture to enhance reliability and partner confidence.
Risk appetite
Averse
Risk owners
Chief information officer
8. Technology resilience and business continuity
Description of risk
Our ability to provide quality of service (QoS) to our customers and meet QoS requirements depends on the robustness and resilience of our technology stack and ecosystem, encompassing hardware, software, products, services and applications, as well as our ability to respond appropriately to any disruptions. Furthermore, a resilient technology stack is critical for improving our operational efficiency as an organisation and the achievement of the goals that we have set for ourselves. However, our telecoms networks are subject to risks of technical failures, aging infrastructure, human error, wilful acts of destruction or natural disasters. This can include equipment failures, energy or fuel shortages, software errors, damage to fibre, lack of redundancy plans and inadequate disaster recovery plans.
How we mitigate this risk
- Implementing geographically redundant disaster recovery sites to provide back-up for our networks and IT infrastructure across our OpCos.
- Regular testing of fallback plans for network and IT systems to ensure reliability of switchover from active to redundant nodes in the event of a disaster.
- Continuous reviews and enhancing our technology ecosystem to ensure all systems are fit for purpose and to eliminate security vulnerability.
Key developments in 2025/26
- In August 2025, we announced a strategic infrastructure sharing agreement with Vodacom Group in key markets, including Tanzania and the DRC, along with access to international bandwidth infrastructure in Mozambique, subject to regulatory approvals.
- Ongoing technology refresh and modernisation programmes kept systems fit for purpose, reduced legacy risk and proactively addressed potential security vulnerabilities.
- We completed a comprehensive redesign of our disaster recovery strategy across primary and recovery sites, improving latency and minimising disruption in the event of an incident.
- Regular disaster recovery drills and fallback tests were conducted, validating switch-over reliability between active and redundant nodes and enhancing operational readiness.
Risk appetite
Cautious
Risk owners
Chief technology officer and chief information officer
Financial risks
9. Exchange rate fluctuations and shortage of foreign currency
Description of risk
Our multinational footprint means we’re constantly exposed to the risk of adverse currency fluctuations and the macroeconomic conditions in the markets where we operate. We derive revenue and incur costs in local currencies where we operate but we also incur costs in foreign currencies, mainly from buying equipment and services from manufacturers and technology service providers. That means adverse movements in exchange rates between the currencies in our OpCos and the US dollar (USD) could have a negative effect on our liquidity and financial condition. In some markets, we face instances of limited supply of foreign currency within the local monetary system.
This negatively impacts our ability to make timely foreign currency payments to vendors and constrains our ability to fully benefit at Group level from strong cash generation by OpCos. Given the severity of this risk, specifically in some of our OpCos, Group management continuously monitors the potential impact of exchange rate fluctuations based on the following methodology:
- Comparing the average devaluation of each OpCo currency against USD on a ten-year historic basis and onshore forward exchange rates over a one-year period, if available.
- With respect to currency sensitivity going forward, over a 12-month period and assuming the movement occurs at the beginning of the period, a further 1% movement of the USD against all OpCos currencies would result in an estimated impact of $60m—$62m on revenues, $29m—$31m on underlying EBITDA and $27m—$29m on foreign exchange (excluding derivatives). Our largest exposure is to the Nigerian naira, where a similar 1% USD movement would result in an estimated $14m—$15m impact on foreign exchange (excluding derivatives). This does not represent any guidance and is being used solely to illustrate the potential impact of further currency movement on the Group for the purpose of exchange rate risk management. The accounting under IFRS is based on exchange rates in line with the requirements of IAS 21 ‘The Effect of Changes in Foreign Exchange’ and does not factor in the above-mentioned devaluation.
How we mitigate this risk
- Renegotiating forex-denominated contracts to local currency contracts.
- Hedging foreign currency denominated payables and loans and matching assets and liabilities, where possible.
- Adequate funding arrangements to mitigate any short-term liquidity constraints caused by fluctuations in forex supply.
- Geographical diversification enables access to liquidity across our footprint.
Key developments in 2025/26
- The Group has continued its strategy of “de- dollarisation” of its bank debt over the past several years and in 2025/26, foreign currency bank debt was less than 5% of total external bank debt as of 31 March 2026 having improved from 7% as of 31 March 2025. Thus, the Group has meaningfully reduced devaluation, transferability and convertibility risk on foreign currency bank debt.
Risk appetite
Flexible
Risk owners
Chief financial officer
Governance and compliance risks
10. Uncertainty in policy and regulatory environment
Description of risk
We operate across diverse legal and regulatory environments. Maintaining adequate procedures, systems and controls enables us to meet our compliance obligations in all jurisdictions where we operate. The legal and regulatory frameworks governing our operations span all our lines of business, most notably telecoms and mobile financial services. The frameworks are unique to each market and are continuously evolving.
While we make every effort to understand and comply with all applicable obligations, we are from time to time exposed to the risk of unanticipated changes in the policy, legal, tax and regulatory environment in our markets, with potential adverse financial and reputational consequences.
How we mitigate this risk
- We operate within the laws and regulatory frameworks of governments and regulatory agencies in our markets – and we always work to ensure that our operations meet local legal and regulatory requirements.
- Institute various policies across the Group to meet compliance obligations in jurisdictions where we operate.
- Continuing engagement with regulators and active participation in industry bodies on key policy matters.
- Regular compliance tracking, identifying root causes for cases of non-compliance and taking corrective actions.
- Escalation process for reporting significant matters to the Group office in a timely manner.
- Communicating with and training employees in relevant company policies.
Key developments in 2025/26
- We strengthened governance and oversight of legal, regulatory, taxation and policy risks across our markets through enhanced monitoring of legal and regulatory developments.
- Proactive and constructive engagement was maintained with regulators and policymakers across our markets on evolving legal, regulatory and licensing frameworks affecting telecommunications and mobile financial services, including quality of service, KYC, consumer protection and compliance obligations.
- Internal frameworks were reinforced to reflect increasing regulatory expectations in relation to mobile financial services and emerging technologies.
Risk appetite
Averse-cautious
Risk owners
Chief legal officer and chief regulatory officer
Emerging risks
Climate change: We continue to evaluate the potential impact of climate change on our business operations and on the economies in which we operate. We recognise that our response to climate change presents an opportunity to strengthen our business, reduce costs and deliver on our broader commitment to transforming lives across Africa.
The physical risks associated with climate change such as extreme weather events and rising temperatures have both direct and indirect impacts on our business and the communities we serve. Transitional risks, including evolving regulatory requirements, stakeholder expectations and the broader shift towards a low-carbon economy may also influence our operating environment and long-term business model. Across some of our markets, where grid availability remains a significant challenge, our reliance on diesel-powered generators exposes the Group to energy cost pressures that are likely to intensify as climate-related disruptions increase and fuel prices remain volatile.
The Group is addressing these risks through the implementation of its sustainability strategy, which is closely aligned with our broader business strategy. One of the pillars in our sustainability strategy is focused on ‘Our environment’, which outlines our ambition to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the progressive adoption of renewable energy sources across our operations. We believe that our commitment to reducing GHG emissions is not only the right thing to do for the environment and the communities we serve but is also good for our business and our profitability. The transition to renewable energy sources presents a meaningful opportunity to lower our energy costs and improve the resilience of our operations in markets where grid reliability remains constrained.
Our commitment to addressing climate risks is outlined in our Sustainability Report 2026. For more details, visit www.airtel.africa.
Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence (AI) has been identified as an emerging risk for the Group. While the rapid evolution of AI technologies presents significant opportunities to enhance our operations and deliver greater value to our customers, it also has the potential to introduce new risks if not supported by the necessary oversight and governance frameworks. We continue to monitor developments in the AI space and are putting in place the governance controls necessary to ensure we are well positioned to manage potential risks while benefitting from the opportunities AI presents.
AI offers meaningful opportunities to optimise our business processes, improve operational efficiency and enhance the customer experience across our markets. The application of AI-driven tools, including large language models (LLMs) and other advanced technologies has the potential to accelerate decision-making, automate routine processes and unlock new capabilities across our operations. The Group is exploring these opportunities in a considered and deliberate manner, recognising that the responsible adoption of AI can support our broader strategic objectives and strengthen our competitive position.
However, the rapid pace of AI development also introduces risks that require careful management. The development and use of LLMs and other AI systems carries inherent risks, including the potential for biased outputs, unintended consequences and the misuse of AI-generated content. Without appropriate governance frameworks, the integration of AI into business processes could expose the Group to operational, reputational and regulatory risks. Additionally, the increasing sophistication of AI is augmenting the capabilities of malicious actors through AI-driven cyberattacks such as bot-driven threats, automated phishing and other AI-enabled intrusions, presenting a growing challenge to our cybersecurity posture. These threats have the potential to compromise our systems, data and the trust of our customers if not adequately addressed.
To mitigate these risks, the Group is currently developing a ‘responsible use of AI’ guidelines for all employees to guide the responsible development, deployment and use of AI across our operations. The guidelines will establish clear principles and oversight mechanisms for the use of LLMs and other advanced AI tools. In parallel, the Group is driving AI literacy among employees to ensure our people have the knowledge and skills necessary to engage with AI technologies responsibly and effectively. We’re also enhancing our cybersecurity capabilities to address the evolving threat landscape, including novel and augmented attacks enabled by AI.
We’ll continue to assess the risk profile of AI as the technology and regulatory environment evolves and implement additional controls as necessary to protect the Group and the customers we serve.