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Airtel Africa revives London IPO plans for mobile money business
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Manny Pham
Category: Mobile Finance
16 July 2026
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Airtel Africa is reportedly stepping up preparations for the long-awaited initial public offering of its mobile money business, with plans to list the unit in London as soon as the second half of the year.
According to the Financial Times, Airtel Africa has invited additional investment banks to join the IPO syndicate, with Citigroup already leading work on the transaction. The listing could value Airtel Money at around US$10 billion and raise approximately US$1.5 billion.
The move signals that Airtel Africa has settled on London as its preferred listing venue after previously considering an exchange in the Middle East. The Financial Times reported the company changed course due to geopolitical tensions in the region before ultimately favouring London’s deep capital markets and international investor base.
Airtel Africa has long planned to spin off its fast-growing mobile money business. The operator had originally targeted a listing by 2025 before pushing back the timetable earlier this year, citing market conditions.
The delay came despite continued growth at Airtel Money, which has become one of Africa’s largest mobile financial services platforms. The business now serves more than 54 million customers across Airtel Africa’s 14 markets and generated US$1.35 billion in revenue during the 2025/26 financial year.
Mobile money has become a key growth engine for African operators as they look beyond traditional connectivity revenues. Services such as digital payments, remittances, merchant payments and savings products have driven strong customer and revenue growth, with operators including Airtel Africa and MTN Group increasingly positioning fintech as a core pillar of their long-term strategy.
