Airtel Nigeria to double capital investment to over N500 billion in 2025 

Based on the financial results for the year ended March 2025, just released by its parent company, Airtel Africa, the Nigeria operation’s capital expenditure for the year was $168 million (about N259 billion using the N1,542/$ exchange rate reported by the company).

This means that Airtel Nigeria will be spending over N500 billion on network expansion in the current year.

According to a statement released by the company, the new investment drive will cover a wide range of areas, including critical infrastructure upgrades, rural network expansion, advanced data solutions, customer experience enhancements, and community-focused initiatives.

Key components of the investment include:

Commenting on the plans, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said:

“Our decision to double our investment reflects our deep commitment to Nigeria’s future.  

“As a company that views Nigeria as home, we are investing in transformative infrastructure that will deliver unmatched value to our customers and make connectivity an everyday reality for more Nigerians.” 

“This is not just about technology; it’s about empowerment and making a positive difference in people’s lives,” he added.

Airtel Nigeria’s investment drive also aligns with the regulatory demand that all telecom service providers in the country improve their network capacity to deliver better quality of services.

This was one of the conditions set by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to approve the recent 50% tariff increment, which the operators started implementing in February this year.

In that regard, MTN Nigeria also recently reported that it increased its investment in network capacity, spending N202.4 billion in the first three months of the year.

This represents a 159% increase in CAPEX for the company when compared with the N78.1 billion it spent in the same period of 2024.