- The company plans to increase capex to $750 million
- CEO Ogunsanya wants to expand mobile money services in Nigeria
Airtel Africa Plc plans to increase its investment to US$750 million this year to grow its mobile money business globally.
The mobile operator plans to develop its technology platform and sales infrastructure further, CEO Segun Ogunsanya said in an interview from the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The company, whose board is headed by Bharti Airtel chairman and billionaire Sunil Mittal, will increase capex by $656 million through March, according to its annual report.
Airtel Africa, with offices in 14 African countries, aims to expand its mobile-based financial offerings in its largest market, Nigeria, where the government is promoting cashless payments to boost commerce in the continent’s largest economy. The company’s financial services, Airtel Money, is the fastest-growing business.
“We are now in a perfect position to leverage the government’s cashless policy to drive the adoption of a digital model,” said Ogunsanya. “We have more phones than debit cards; we plan to automate the feature and use those policies to drive cash differentiation across our customer base.”
