Airtel Africa is positioning its mobile money platform, Airtel Money, to challenge Africa’s fintech giants through a planned initial public offering set for the first half of 2026,  Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer said in the company’s latest financial results.

The IPO will bolster Airtel Money’s ability to compete with dominant players like Safaricom’s M-Pesa and MTN’s MoMo in the continent’s rapidly growing fintech market.

The operator’s fintech unit, operating across 14 African countries including Nigeria, has grown its subscriber base by 17.3 per cent year-on-year to 44.6 million active users as of early 2025, according to the company’s first-quarter financial results.

The mobile money platform provides critical financial services to millions of unbanked users, enabling digital transactions, credit access, and remittances via mobile phones.

This focus on financial inclusion aligns with Airtel Africa’s mission to drive economic prosperity and transform lives across its markets.

“We are making significant progress in our preparations for the Airtel Money IPO and remain committed to this objective,” Taldar said, underscoring the strategic importance of the listing.

He cautioned that the IPO remains subject to market conditions, adding, “Therefore, subject to these conditions, we anticipate a listing event in the first half of the calendar year 2026.”

The IPO is expected to raise capital to scale Airtel Money’s operations and sharpen its competitive edge.

Safaricom’s M-Pesa, with 70 million users across Africa and a stronghold in Kenya, remains the market leader, while MTN’s MoMo commands 65 million active users, particularly in West and Central Africa.

However, MoMo’s Nigerian arm, MoMo PSB, saw a 55.6 per cent year-on-year decline in active wallets, dropping to 2.1 million in Q1 2025, a vulnerability Airtel’s fintech unit could capitalise on.

Airtel Money’s growth strategy hinges on leveraging its expanding user base and innovative services to close the gap with its rivals.

The platform’s ability to empower underserved communities through accessible financial tools positions it as a key player in Africa’s fintech frontier.

Taldar emphasised the company’s broader vision, stating, “We will remain focused on delivering our strategy to transform the lives of our customers and support economic prosperity across our markets.”

Expressing gratitude to stakeholders, Taldar noted, “I want to say a particular thank-you to our customers, partners, governments, and regulators for their support and our employees for their unrelenting contribution to the business.” This collaborative effort underpins Airtel Africa’s confidence as it advances toward the 2026 IPO.

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has partnered with private sector ICT firms to explore the use of adaptive regulatory sandboxes that can support the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into data protection frameworks while enabling cross-border innovation.

This was revealed during a one-day workshop held in Abuja titled “Co-Creation Lab on Africa Sandboxes for AI”. The event also featured the evaluation of the African Sandbox Outlook report.

The workshop focused on how regulatory sandboxes could serve as safe testing environments for AI technologies and foster data-driven innovation on the continent.

Speaking at the event, National Commissioner of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, said the commission is actively examining the role of regulatory sandboxes as part of its mandate under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).

Represented by Ms. Adaobi Nwankwo, Head of the Commission’s Innovation Unit, Olatunji said: “Sandboxes aim to encourage responsible AI, foster compliance with the NDPA, and promote trust, fairness, accountability, and transparency.

“The goal is to create a competitive environment for AI developers and data scientists while addressing Africa’s unique challenges.”

He noted that a functional regulatory sandbox would need to operate within real-time legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure effective testing of AI and data-driven solutions.

 Also speaking at the workshop, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, stressed that while AI offers transformative opportunities for digital infrastructure, network optimization, and public service delivery, it also raises complex regulatory and ethical concerns.

Represented by Mr. Babagana Digima, Deputy Director of New Media and Information Security at NCC, Maida highlighted the significance of regulatory sandboxes as tools for collaborative policy development:

“Sandboxes provide a controlled environment for innovators to test AI under regulatory supervision.

“This encourages collaborative learning, risk mitigation, and evidence-based policymaking. We’re aligning this with the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the Digital Economy Policy, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act.”

Principal Consultant at Kontemporary Konsulting, Dr. Jimson Olufuye, called for greater regulatory harmonization across African nations to facilitate easier data flows and AI integration.

“We need to optimise data protection processes and scale products across West Africa.

“There’s a need for sandboxes that support cross-border interoperability and AI systems embedded with robust governance structures,” he said.

Olufuye noted that inconsistencies in data laws across African jurisdictions could hinder innovation if not addressed through collaborative regulation.

Ms. Morine Amutorine, Africa Lead for the Datasphere Initiative, emphasized that AI sandboxes can be implemented in countries regardless of their regulatory maturity.

According to her, “ sandbox allows stakeholders to assess the impact of data-driven solutions and identify areas requiring new or updated regulation.”

Meanwhile, the African Sandbox Outlook report, presented at the event, noted that sandboxes are increasingly being recognized as powerful tools for testing regulatory and technical approaches to AI and data governance.

The report concluded that regulatory sandboxes across Africa are pivotal for tackling the continent’s data challenges, supporting innovation, and unlocking data value chains.

World Bank has projected that Nigeria’s inflation rate will average 22.1 per cent in 2025, attributing the anticipated decline to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s tight monetary stance aimed at restoring price stability and anchoring inflation expectations.

The projection was contained in a statement published Monday on the World Bank’s website, following the formal launch of the latest edition of the Nigeria Development Update report in Abuja.

The biannual report, titled “Building Momentum for Inclusive Growth,” assesses recent economic trends and policy responses, and outlines priorities for sustaining reforms and promoting inclusive growth.

According to the report, while macroeconomic indicators have improved significantly, particularly GDP growth, revenue mobilisation, and fiscal consolidation, headline inflation remains a pressing concern.

“The report further adds that inflation has remained high and sticky but is expected to fall to an annual average of 22.1 per cent in 2025, as a sustained tight stance firmly establishes monetary policy credibility and dampens inflationary expectations,” the statement read.

The World Bank identified the major drivers of elevated inflation in recent years to include the removal of petrol subsidies, exchange rate unification, rising logistics and energy costs, and recurring food supply disruptions.

However, it noted that the Central Bank’s ongoing monetary tightening efforts are starting to show positive signs, with inflationary pressures expected to ease going into 2025.

The report also indicated that Nigeria’s macroeconomic position is steadily improving. The economy grew by 4.6 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing full-year growth to 3.4 per cent, the strongest outturn since 2014, excluding the post-COVID rebound.

Fiscal performance also improved sharply, with the consolidated fiscal deficit narrowing from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2023 to 3.0 per cent in 2024. Total government revenues rose from N16.8tn in 2023 to an estimated N31.9tn in 2024, equivalent to 11.5 per cent of GDP.

With the improved fiscal outlook, the World Bank said Nigeria now had a window of opportunity to restructure public spending and make impactful investments in social infrastructure.

“Nigeria has made impressive strides to restore macroeconomic stability. With the improvement in the fiscal situation, Nigeria now has a historic opportunity to improve the quantity and quality of development spending; investing more in human capital, social protection, and infrastructure,” the acting World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Taimur Samad, said.

He added that the allocation of public resources should move away from past unsustainable patterns and be redirected towards addressing critical development gaps. The World Bank further stressed that achieving long-term inclusive growth would require accelerating productivity in sectors that create jobs at scale.

It observed that while finance and ICT were among the economy’s top performers, they were not labour-intensive and excluded many Nigerians due to limited access and skills.

“International experience suggests that the public sector cannot sustainably generate growth and jobs by itself. Nigeria is no exception,” World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, said.

“A useful strategy is to position the public sector to play a dual role as a provider of essential public services… and as an enabler for the private sector to invest, innovate, and grow the economy,” he added.

The Nigeria Development Update is one of the World Bank’s flagship economic publications on Nigeria and provides regular analysis of trends, reforms, and risks in Africa’s largest economy.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 24.23 per cent in March 2025, up from 23.18 per cent recorded in February, according to the most recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.