Bharti Airtel Group’s Airtel Africa is in touch with the Citi Group for the planned IPO of Airtel Money, as per a Bloomberg report. Airtel Africa, which is the third-largest telecom company in Africa, is also expected to meet the investors in Dubai sometime this week, the report adds
The report says that the company is targeting the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026. As of now, the venue and deal size details remain unclear. The Bloomberg report indicates that the company is trying to make a deal that could value Airtel Money at over $4 billion.
Airtel Money valuation
Further, the report states that Airtel Africa is considering London, the United Arab Emirates and European venues for the listing. Airtel Africa, having operations in 14 countries, is listed in London and Lagos.
In the previous investment rounds, Airtel Money was valued at over 2 billion. In 2021, when Airtel Money received $100 million investment from Mastercard, it was valued at $2.65 billion. At that time, TPG Inc. also invested $200 million in Airtel Money at the same valuation. The company also received investment from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund later that year; however, the details of the valuation at the time of the deal are unavailable.
Airtel Money business dynamics
Airtel Money is among the fastest-growing mobile money fintechs. By the end of Q1 FY26, the company had 4.58 crore customers and an annualised transaction value of $162 billion. Africa, which is becoming a fintech hub due to a large young population, provides a unique opportunity for fintech companies.
The company is controlled by the Bharti Airtel Group of billionaire Sunil Mittal, who has a net worth of about $27 billion. Other than Airtel India and Airtel Africa, the company has operations in the United Kingdom as well. Earlier last year, the company acquired a 24.5 per cent stake in British Telecom. The company also has a majority stake in the United Kingdom-based satellite company OneWeb.