Progress update against our targets

Ongoing technological advances, improved network coverage and rising smartphone adoption have expanded access to digital financial services. The growing number of Airtel Money customers and increased adoption of mobile money for everyday payments and transfers reflect increasing trust in the platforms we’ve built. Wider acceptance of digital payments among governments, businesses and merchants has also accelerated the shift away from cash, deepening participation in the formal economy. In addition, our sustained investment in secure, reliable and trusted platforms has enabled a strong foundation for scaling financial inclusion across all our markets in 2025/26.

Deepening the digital payments ecosystem

Expanding and deepening the digital payments ecosystem remained a core priority in 2025/26. We increased our non-exclusive agent base by 39%, strengthening last-mile access and expanding the number of locations where customers can make digital payments for everyday goods and services.

We also enhanced the Airtel Money ecosystem by broadening use cases to drive customer engagement, reflecting strong demand for mobile money products and services while growing customer confidence in our credit products. In parallel, we accelerated our digital-first strategy to support product innovation and increased smartphone adoption across our markets.

We continued to scale high-frequency use cases, including person-to-person transfers, bill payments, recharges, merchant payments and cross-border remittances, and deepened payment ecosystem integration to make digital transactions an everyday default rather than an occasional choice.

Driving economic empowerment and gender inclusion

Financial inclusion is one of the most powerful levers for advancing women’s economic empowerment. Women across our markets are disproportionately excluded from formal finance. They are more likely to run informal businesses, have limited collateral and face barriers to accessing traditional banking. We’re working to change that.

As of 31 March 2026, 44.1% of our Airtel Money customers were women, reflecting continued progress in reaching female customers across our footprint. In December 2025, we launched a targeted impact lending programme for women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania. The programme addresses the specific barriers that women entrepreneurs typically face including limited collateral, thin credit files and restricted access to traditional banking channels. During 2025/26, 55 women SME customers were selected for the initial cohort and supported through targeted communication campaigns and a 20% incremental credit limit on Kamilisha, our flagship overdraft loan product.

During the reporting period, loans were issued under the programme, amounting to TZS 6bn (equiv. $2.3m) in value. Women participating in the programme demonstrated 2% better repayment performance than the rest of our customer base. This is due to strengthened financial awareness and tailored education. It is important as better repayment rates open the door to larger credit limits and a longer-term relationship with the formal financial system.

Promoting household savings through innovative deposit products

Saving together is a deeply rooted practice across many of our markets. Community savings groups – where members pool regular contributions to help each other reach personal, family or business goals – have long provided a safety net for households that formal financial institutions have often failed to reach. In Tanzania, our Airtel Vikoba initiative digitises this trusted, familiar model, bringing the security, transparency and convenience of mobile money to savings groups that have traditionally operated entirely in cash.

Airtel Vikoba enables group members to make structured digital deposits towards shared or individual goals, and to build a cushion against unexpected expenses. Members can save towards anything – from school fees and medical costs to small business investment. Over 2025/26 the number of active savings groups using Airtel Vikoba grew by 70% and total savings held in Vikoba accounts increased by 124% year on year. Growth of this scale demonstrates that there is a clear need for accessible, structured savings tools.

Significantly, more than 60% of Airtel Vikoba users are women. This reflects the product's relevance to a customer group that has historically been underserved by formal finance, and reinforces our commitment to advancing women's economic empowerment across our markets. For many of these customers, Airtel Vikoba represents their first meaningful engagement with a structured savings product – a genuinely important step towards longer-term financial resilience.

Partnerships for growth

Partnerships continue to play a vital role in extending our financial inclusion reach. In 2025, Airtel Money transitioned from foundational partnerships to scaled execution, deepening collaborations that advanced global payments, financial inclusion, and merchant ecosystem expansion across priority markets.

Building on earlier infrastructure investments, partnerships with Mastercard and Network International enabled the rollout of virtual card capabilities in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, allowing customers to transact at over 100 million Mastercard‑accepting merchants globally. This materially enhanced cross‑border payment functionality and positioned Airtel Money as a credible enabler of international commerce.

In parallel, Airtel Money expanded access to embedded credit through partnerships with Standard Bank in Malawi and Rawbank in the Democratic Republic of Congo, launching wallet‑integrated consumer overdraft products. These solutions ensure transaction continuity during liquidity gaps, support responsible short‑term credit access, and reinforce Airtel Money’s financial inclusion objectives.

To accelerate merchant acceptance and monetisation, Airtel Money partnered with Axieva Inc. to deploy the Airtel Money Merchant Platform, launched in Tanzania (September 2025) and Uganda (March 2026). The platform delivers a unified, scalable merchant solution with digital onboarding, QR payments, real‑time processing, and advanced reporting, strengthening merchant acquisition, operational efficiency, and regional scalability.

AI and digital innovation

We continued to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and digital solutions to advance inclusion and improve the customer experience. Increased MyAirtel app penetration remained a priority, with self-recharge, digital payments and self-service capabilities enabling customers to transact more independently and confidently. AI-driven tools supported faster onboarding, smarter KYC management and more intuitive in-app interactions, while also improving internal efficiency through automated transaction monitoring, risk controls and customer support processes. Together, these capabilities are enabling a simpler, more inclusive and more scalable digital financial services platform.