Nigeria has become Airtel Africa’s second-largest market by revenue earned per subscriber, underscoring how recent telecom tariff increases are reshaping the economics of the country’s telecom sector.
The telecom group, which operates across 14 African countries, said average revenue per user (ARPU) in Nigeria rose 41.18% in the financial year ended March 2026, according to results released on Friday.
ARPU, a key industry metric that measures how much operators earn from each subscriber, is closely watched as an indicator of profitability and network sustainability. The increase marks a major turnaround for Airtel in Nigeria after years of currency depreciation eroded dollar earnings despite continued subscriber growth.
As the naira weakened sharply from around ₦471/$ in mid-2023 to above ₦1,300/$, telecom operators faced rising infrastructure costs and shrinking returns, making it harder to finance network expansion and service upgrades.
That pressure eased after regulators approved a 50% tariff increase in 2025, allowing operators to improve earnings and revive investment plans. The impact has been felt across the industry. MTN Nigeria also reported a sharp rise in ARPU, which climbed nearly 66% to $3.60 in 2025.
For Airtel Nigeria, the improved earnings translated into stronger financial performance and higher spending on infrastructure. Capital expenditure rose 48.21% during the period, while revenue increased 52.92% to $1.59 billion. Operating profit climbed 78.62%, with the company ending the year with 58.3 million subscribers.
Data services remained Airtel Nigeria’s biggest growth engine, contributing more than half of total revenue.
The company’s mobile money business in Nigeria, however, still lags behind its operations in other African markets. Airtel recorded 2.7 million mobile money users in Nigeria, compared to 40.9 million in East Africa and 10.5 million in Francophone Africa.
Nigeria contributed less than 1% of the $1.36 billion generated by Airtel Africa’s mobile money division during the financial year.
To grow the business, Airtel is leaning on customer incentives, an expanded physical agent network, and fixed savings interest rates of up to 15% to attract users to its mobile money platform.
Across its African operations, Airtel Africa’s total subscriber base grew to 183.5 million, while revenue rose 29.47% to $6.42 billion. Profit after tax surged 147.87%.
“We achieved a strong 24.0% growth in constant currency revenues in FY’26,” the company said in its financial results, citing tariff adjustments in Nigeria and improving macroeconomic conditions as key drivers of growth.
