Afrigather Airtel Africa is exploring taking its cell cash unit public, with a possible valuation surpassing $4 billion, in line with a brand new Bloomberg report. Talks of the IPO are in preliminary levels and the corporate might determine in opposition to going public.
Airtel Cash is Airtel Africa’s fastest-growing arm. Whereas Airtel’s 2023 income plunged by nearly 99%—recording $2 million in income in contrast with the $523 million it made in 2022—resulting from forex devaluation, Airtel cell cash recorded a 31.8% revenue growth.
In 2021, Airtel hinted at a attainable public providing for its fintech arm inside a number of years, after receiving investments from TPG—$200 million—and Mastercard—$100 million—valuing the unit at $2.65 billion.
The telco at present gives its cell cash companies in 14 African nations. In Nigeria, it competes with MTN Momo, whereas it’s dwarfed by competitors from Kenya’s cell cash big, M-Pesa. Final yr, it obtained approval to permit prospects to transact as much as KES 500,000 ($3,400) up from KES 300,000 ($2,085) which it was beforehand allowed to do.
Airtel’s deliberate cell cash IPO follows a pattern of funding in African cell cell cash suppliers. Two years after its $100 million funding in Airtel Cash, Mastercard acquired a minor stake in MTN’s cell cash arm.
