Airtel Nigeria, with 58.26 million subscribers, has announced plans to double its capital investments in the country.
This is coming after its parent company, Airtel Africa, posted a profit after tax of $328 million for the full year ended March 2025, an improvement from the $89 million posted in the corresponding period of 2024, when foreign exchange and derivative losses, especially in Nigeria, weighed on performance.
Airtel Nigeria spent $168 million on capital expenditure in the year ended March 2025, representing a 33.33 percent drop from the $252 million invested during the previous year. However, the telco now plans to significantly scale up its investments across critical areas, including infrastructure upgrades, rural coverage expansion, advanced data solutions, improved customer experience, and community-focused projects.
Read also: Airtel Africa advances in Airtel Money IPO, sets H1’26 for listing
This increased spending is part of a $1 billion investment expected in Nigeria’s telecom sector in 2025, according to Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The NCC boss projects that telecom operators will invest N1.59 trillion ($1 billion) in network expansion in 2025 to halt network glitches after years of underinvestment.
Dinesh Balsingh, chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, stated, “Our decision to double our investment reflects our deep commitment to Nigeria’s future. As a company that views Nigeria as home, we are investing in transformative infrastructure that will deliver unmatched value to our customers and make connectivity an everyday reality for more Nigerians.”
Read also: Airtel taps SpaceX’s Starlink to boost Internet coverage
Airtel noted that the expanded investment would support accelerated 5G deployment, enhanced rural network coverage, rollout of high-capacity radios to meet growing data demand, expansion of fibre infrastructure, and the construction of a data centre in Nigeria.
Airtel’s move follows MTN Nigeria’s increased capex spend, with the latter increasing its capital spending by 159 percent to N202.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
The renewed investment push by telecom operators comes on the heels of the NCC’s recent approval of a 50 percent increase in call, data, and SMS tariffs after a decade-long push by telecom operators for price adjustments because of harsh economic conditions.
