Airtel Africa’s customers hit 152.7m, invests $1.2m on training programmes

Airtel Africa, a provider of telecommunications and mobile money services in 14 countries across Africa, says it has invested $1.2million on staff training even as its customer base has reached 152.7m. 

It also said it had attained ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 certifications which demonstrate its compliance with international standards and commitment to data privacy and security. 

 This was disclosed in its 2024 Sustainability Report released yesterday. 

The report highlights Airtel Africa’s progress across its key sustainability targets, including support for its people and communities, promoting financial and digital inclusion, and initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of its operations.

Airtel Africa’s outgoing Group CEO, Segun Ogunsanya, said: “I’m very proud of the strides Airtel Africa has made in advancing our sustainability goals. While targets are vital to driving change, our mission is much bigger: to transform people’s lives through connectivity, products and services fostering digital and financial inclusion while unlocking the potential of the next generation.”

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The report shares progress highlights for the company’s four sustainability pillars: ‘Our business’, ‘Our people’, ‘Our community’ and ‘Our environment’.

The report disclosed how the telco is expanding the 4G network and reaching 70.7% of the population in these markets, a 4.9% increase since 2022.

It also shows how the telecom operator is introducing 5G services, now covering 4.14% of customers, primarily in urban areas.

Airtel Africa said it is committed to creating a working environment where all employees can achieve their full potential.

It said it is driving financial inclusion for unbanked populations by growing Airtel Money’s customer base to 38m people. 

“This is particularly significant for the financial inclusion of women in Africa, who make up 38% of Airtel Money’s customers,” it said.

It added that it is also advancing digital learning across Africa through the five-year $57m partnership with UNICEF, connecting almost 1,200 schools to the internet and providing free access to online educational platforms to thousands of students in 2023/24.

The report also said Airtel Africa is working to address and minimise the impact of the company’s operations on the environment. 

“Launching our new multi-million data centre business, Nxtra by Airtel, in December 2023 and commencing construction of one of Africa’s largest data centres in Lagos, Nigeria, which will incorporate modern energy efficiencies to complement the ongoing work on reducing carbon emissions across existing sites,” the report added.