Telecom
Airtel Secures $500m Loan to Repay €750m Bond

Airtel Africa Plc has secured a new $500 million loan with a group of relationship banks to partially refinance its €750 million bonds maturing on May 20, 2021.
The banks are Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citibank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank (the last two are Indian lenders).
In a disclosure issued on Wednesday by Mr Simon O’Hara, company secretary, Airtel Africa said, “The new committed facility consists of a combination of a revolving credit facility and term loans with tenor of up to 4 years. The facility will be used to partially refinance the group’s €750 million Euro-denominated bond (about $880 million) due May 20, 2021.
“The balance of the Euro-denominated bond will be repaid with existing group cash to reduce gross debt and associated interest costs. The new loan facility further strengthens the core liquidity of the group.”
Explaining how the new credit facility would be repaid, the telecommunications giant said it has pre-payment flexibilities that will allow the group to optimise the efficiency of its capital structure with the free cash flows and cash receipts anticipated over the next 12 months following the recent announcements related to tower sales and mobile money minority investments.
“It also has prepayment flexibilities that will allow the group to optimise the efficiency of its capital structure with the free cash flows and cash receipts anticipated over the next 12 months,” the statement said.
This latest development is coming after global payments service giant, Mastercard Inc, announced plans to invest $100 million in the telco’s mobile money operations valuing the business at $2.65 billion.
Mastercard will hold a minority stake in Airtel Mobile Commerce, in line with Airtel Africa’s plan to monetise the mobile money business by selling up to a 25 per cent stake in the unit, the company said.
In addition to receiving investments from Mastercard, Airtel Africa has begun selling off some assets as well, the company had sold 1,424 telecommunications towers in Madagascar and Malawi to Helios Towers for $119 million.
The companies also agreed to sell some towers in Chad and Gabon for undisclosed sums.
It is believed that the sale is geared toward the company’s pursuit of strategic asset monetisation, investment opportunities and, ultimately, debt reduction.
Telecom
MTN @ Swish Fusion Summit, Showcases 5G Rollout Strategy

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has joined other professionals across media, technology, and business gathered in Lagos for the Swish Fusion Tech and Media Summit.
Themed ‘Africa: Big Wins & New Breaks’, the summit drew thousands of attendees and featured more than 40 speakers exploring the intersection of innovation, regulation, and economic growth across the continent.
Among the sessions, MTN Nigeria presented a detailed look at the company’s ongoing 5G deployment efforts and its role in shaping enterprise infrastructure.
Njideka Jack, senior manager for Partnerships in MTN’s Enterprise Business Division, shared details of the investments, reiterating the company’s commitment to delivering high-quality 5G-powered services.
The company’s 5G rollout timeline began in 2022 with license acquisition from the Nigerian Communications Commission. In 2023, MTN moved into pilot testing and infrastructure investment.
By 2024, coverage had expanded to key cities and business hubs.
The company now plans to extend access to more underserved areas throughout 2025 while deepening collaboration with OEMs and regulators.
Beyond the rollout itself, Jack also spoke on the potential of private 5G networks for Nigerian enterprises.
With the ability to offer secure, high-speed, low-latency connectivity, these networks are increasingly being adopted in manufacturing, healthcare, education, and logistics sectors.
The summit’s broader agenda reflected a similar sense of urgency around Africa’s digital future.
Panels and breakout sessions tackled topics ranging from mobile-first product design and regulatory frameworks to the rise of AI in content creation and the realities of funding early-stage tech ventures on the continent.
Speakers from companies like Jumia, Stears and local startups provided perspectives on both the barriers and breakthroughs in building scalable African solutions.
The sessions also sparked conversations about how African businesses are adapting to consumer behaviour shifts and infrastructure limitations.
Telecom
PAT Taps Osi as CEO

Pan African Towers (PAT), a Nigerian infrastructure provider serving 9mobile and Spectranet, has appointed Echezona Osi as chief executive officer.

Echezona Osi
Adefolarin Ogunsanya, company’s, board chairman, explained in a statement that Osi would succeed Oladipo Badru, whose tenure lasted nine months in acting CEO position. Osi has more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications sector across various regions of Africa.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had served as the head of network deployment at Airtel Nigeria, operations director and chief technical information officer at MIC Tanzania, chief technology officer roles at IPT PowerTech Nigeria, Rhino Niger Networks and Biswal Nigeria.
He obtained a degree in electrical/ electronic engineering from the University of Benin and a postgraduate diploma in data science and business analytics from the University of Texas.
Telecom
NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

Companies sending bulk international text messages, also known as Application-to-Person (A2P) messages, will now have apply for a licence that costs N10 million.
This is part of new rules introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aimed at cleaning up the system, fighting fraud, blocking spam messages and stopping money from leaving the country unchecked.
These A2P messages are the kind customers get from banks, online stores, hospitals and political campaigns, automated texts sent from apps to their phones.
According to the commission, the bulk international text message system has been poorly regulated, allowing misuse and invasion of privacy.
“The International SMS Service Ecosystem in Nigeria has not been fully brought under regulatory control. It has been observed that the excessive use of the Short Message Service has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities,” the NCC said.
The regulator warned that without action, the problem would worsen as more people use mobile phones and digital services.
To solve this, the NCC is creating a central platform, or gateway, through which all international bulk text messages must pass through.
The agency said this would help to monitor messages in real time, ensure proper fees are paid, and make sure the money stays in Nigeria where it can contribute to the economy.
As part of the incoming change, service providers must follow strict rules, including strong data protection, spam filters, and message encryption.
Also, they must also work with local mobile networks and make sure all messages come from a verified sender
The NCC warned that any message without a proper sender ID will be blocked and not delivered to users.
To protect users from unwanted texts, the new rules say companies must get clear permission before sending any promotional content.
The rule also says people must also be able to choose whether they want to receive such messages or not.
Companies are now required to keep records of all messages for at least six months and must clearly state all charges involved.
The NCC said fees for help requests, cancellations, or service info must be transparent and not include hidden charges.
The commission will issue licences to several providers to encourage healthy competition but may limit new licences if needed.
Only companies that show they can stop fraud and safely deliver messages will be allowed to operate. They must also regularly report their message traffic and finances to the NCC.
It warned that any company that breaks the rules risks getting fined, suspended, or having its licence revoked.
Offences like charging illegal tariffs, ignoring security rules, or avoiding taxes will be punished, the NCC said.
The commission added that the new rules follow the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and support the federal government’s goal of strengthening cybersecurity and controlling Nigeria’s digital space.
The framework will also be reviewed from time to time to keep up with new technology and market trends.
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