Airtel Africa saved 9.1 million litres of diesel during its just-ended 2025/2026 financial year as part of efforts to drive responsible growth by minimising the environmental impact of its operations.
 
This was achieved by reducing reliance on diesel and increasing use of lower-carbon energy sources, including the conversion of 390 infrastructure sites to on-grid power during the year, thus improving efficiency and reducing emissions.

Airtel Africa CEO, Sunil Taldar, highlighted this achievement during a media roundtable held in Lusaka, Zambia, where he presented the Group’s Sustainability Scorecard and progress towards building a more sustainable, inclusive and connected Africa.

Other initiatives to reduce Airtel Africa’s environmental impact during the year included promoting the circular economy and recycling 94 per cent of total waste generated.These form part of Airtel Africa’s broader sustainability strategy, which seeks to create long-term value by balancing business growth with environmental stewardship, digital inclusion and socio-economic development.

Taldar emphasised that responsible growth remains central to Airtel Africa’s business strategy and is reflected in the company’s ability to extend services and opportunities to millions of people across the continent while advancing sustainability goals. Airtel Africa’s network now reaches 81.9 per cent of the population across its markets, enabling greater access to connectivity, information, education and economic opportunities for individuals and communities.

The company recorded progress in its efforts to advance financial inclusion. Airtel Money now serves 54.1 million customers through a network of 2.4 million agents, making it one of Africa’s largest digital financial services ecosystems. Notably, 44.1 per cent of Airtel Money customers are female, demonstrating the platform’s growing role in empowering women through access to secure, affordable and convenient financial services.
  
Through its partnership with UNICEF, 3,296 schools have been connected to free internet access, helping to bridge the digital divide and expand access to quality education, reaching over 2 million learners and 38,868 teachers, while 64 zero-rated digital learning platforms enabled more than 11 million learners to access free digital educational content.

Also, during the year, more than 30,000 young people received digital skills training, while over 250 full undergraduate STEM scholarships were awarded through the Airtel Africa Tech Fellowship programme, helping to prepare the next generation of African innovators and technology leaders.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian arm has called for the adoption of intelligent technology platforms to accelerate national growth.

Airtel Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, who made this call, noted that intelligent technology platforms drive innovation, productivity, and sustainable economic growth.

Speaking at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Breakfast Club on the theme, ‘From Telco to TechCo’, Balsingh said the telecommunications industry is evolving beyond connectivity to become the foundation for enterprise transformation and the country’s digital economy.

Balsingh explained that while previous generations of mobile technology connected people through voice, internet access, and mobile broadband, the future lies in intelligent ecosystems powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), satellite connectivity, and integrated enterprise solutions.

Noting that value is no longer measured by the volume of data consumed but by the business outcomes technology delivers, he highlighted a key shift in telecommunications to AI-powered customer protections, industry-specific digital solutions, IoT platforms, and hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks that extend reliable connectivity to underserved communities and remote business locations.

He added that sectors including retail, education, healthcare, government, manufacturing, and oil and gas increasingly require integrated digital solutions that combine connectivity with cloud services, intelligent networking, surveillance, automation and data analytics.