Airtel Africa intends to list its Airtel Money mobile money unit during the first half 2026 in order to capitalize on the growing demand of digital payment services throughout the continent.
Airtel confirmed its listing plan on Thursday amid growing investor interest in Africa’s fintech industry, especially mobile payment platforms which offer millions of unbanked people access to transactions and credit, as well as remittances. Airtel Africa is listed in London and operates in 14 African countries. Reuters reported that the IPO would provide Airtel Money with the independence and visibility it needs to scale up its operations.
Airtel Money is preparing to launch its IPO in order to compete with rivals such as Safaricom’s M-Pesa, and MTN’s MoMo on the booming digital payment market. Airtel Money wants to compete against heavyweights who have large user bases and market penetration.
Although the company did not disclose its exchange or fundraising target it reaffirmed their intention to go public. This was first announced in 2024 when they began exploring a possible spin-off of this fast-growing unit. The company initially set July 2025 as its target.
We are committed to the July IPO timeline. Sunil Taldar said in January that it would take six months to work out the details. “Our overall priority is to invest in the strong expansion of the business.”
Airtel Money, a key growth engine for the group with revenues rising by 20.7% by 2024, has emerged as the main growth engine. The platform processed $112 Billion in transaction value in 2018, driven by the growing adoption of mobile money in key markets.
Airtel believes that a standalone listing of Airtel Money will accelerate its expansion in countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Airtel Money, with over 30 million users in 14 markets and partnerships between banks, wants to compete against regional competitors such as Kenya’s Safaricom or South Africa’s.
Airtel Money still has a lot of ground to cover despite its rapid growth over the past few years. Safaricom’s M-Pesa is still the dominant mobile payment system in Kenya and Tanzania. It processes more than $300 billion in transactions a year, and remains the preferred choice for many households and businesses. MTN’s MoMo has a greater footprint in West and Central Africa. M-Pesa is estimated to have 66.2 million users active, while MoMo only has 65 million.
