Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa. Airtel Africa, one of the leading telecommunications and mobile payment service providers in 14 African countries, saved 9.1 million litres of diesel during its 2025/2026 financial year, which has just ended, as part of its efforts to promote responsible growth by minimizing the environmental impact of its operations. This result was achieved by reducing diesel dependency and increasingly turning to low-carbon energy sources, notably through connecting 390 infrastructure sites to the electricity grid during the year, which improved energy efficiency and reduced emissions.
Sustainability Dashboard
Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa, highlighted this achievement during a media roundtable organized in Lusaka, Zambia, where he presented the Group's sustainable development dashboard and progress made towards building a more sustainable, inclusive and better-connected Africa. Among other initiatives to reduce Airtel Africa's environmental impact during the year was the promotion of the circular economy, with 94% of total waste generated being recycled. These actions are part of Airtel Africa's broader sustainable development strategy, which aims to create long-term value by balancing business growth with responsible environmental management, digital inclusion and socio-economic development.
"Responsible growth remains at the heart of Airtel Africa's business strategy and is reflected in the company's ability to expand its services and offer opportunities to millions of people across the continent, while advancing its sustainable development objectives," explained Sunil Taldar.
Airtel Africa's network now covers 81.9% of the population across all its markets, enabling better access to connectivity, information, education and economic opportunities for individuals and communities.
Financial Inclusion
The company made progress in its efforts to promote 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% of Airtel Money customers are women, demonstrating the platform's growing role in empowering women through access to secure, affordable and convenient financial services.
Beyond connectivity and financial inclusion, Airtel Africa, through its philanthropic arm, the Airtel Africa Foundation, continued to drive significant change within communities across the continent, investing 6.2 million US dollars in priority programmes across four strategic areas: financial inclusion, education, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion.
Quality Education
Through its partnership with UNICEF, 3,296 schools were connected to free internet access, helping to bridge the digital divide and expand access to quality education to over two million students and 38,868 teachers, while 64 zero-rated digital learning platforms enabled over 11 million students to access digital educational content for free. Additionally, during the year, over 30,000 young people received digital skills training, while over 250 full undergraduate scholarships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) were awarded under the "Airtel Africa Tech Fellowship" programme, helping to prepare the next generation of African innovators and technology leaders.