The leading smartphone telecommunication Airtel Africa’s customer base has grown to 155.4 million representing 8.6% in the just ended second quarter of 2024.
In the company’s financial report for quarter ended 30 June, issued on Friday, July 26, 2024, data customer penetration continues to rise, driving a 13.4% increase in data customers to 64.4 million.
“Data usage per customer increased by 25.1% to 6.2 GBs, with smartphone penetration increasing 4.7% to reach 41.7%,” reads the statement in part signed by Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar.
“Mobile money subscriber growth of 14.9% reflects our continued investment into distribution to support increased
financial inclusion across our markets. Transaction value increased by 28.7% in constant currency with annualised
transaction value of $120bn in reported currency.
“Data ARPU growth of 9.6% and mobile money ARPU growth of 8.8% in constant currency continued to support
overall ARPU’s which increased 9.3% YoY,” reads the report.
Taldar adds, “Customer experience remains core to our strategy with sustained network investment driving increased capacity
and coverage. Data capacity across our network has increased by 33% with the rollout of almost 3,000 sites and
over 5,600 kms of fibre.
“Launched a comprehensive cost efficiency programme to identify specific cost reduction initiatives across the
Group. Steps taken include the optimisation of network utilisation and design, introducing energy saving initiatives
to reduce network costs and the renegotiation of key contracts, whilst ensuring future growth ambitions remain
protected. We anticipate the full benefit of this programme to accrue over the year ahead”.