With aspirations to touch the sky, Airtel soared higher - banking on its promise of exceptional experiences and unmatched services - to transform itself as a leader, beyond borders.
To succeed and prosper, Bharti Airtel always looked up to bigger and brighter prospects - to not just be a market leader at home but, sustain its prowess in international territories as well. Not many would know, but Bharti Airtel’s global aspirations shaped long before its entry into the South Asian neighbourhood of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and much before the celebrated Zain acquisition in Africa.
Back in 1997, when the Company had just begun operations in India and had only one lakh customers, it had bid for a mobile license in Botswana, Africa. However, Airtel failed to obtain the bid and finally, made its overseas debut in January 1998 with the launch of operations in the island nation of Seychelles. The rest, as they say- is history - with Airtel today fortifying its presence across 18 countries in two continents, reaching out to a whopping two billion people around the world.
1998
Became the first Indian telecom service provider to offer service outside the country and start operations in Seychelles
2010
Started operations in Bangladesh with the acquisition of Warid Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of UAE based Abu Dhabi Group
2010
Completed the merger acquisition of Zain Africa’s BV operations in 15 African countries, at a valuation of USD 10.7 Bn, becoming the world’s fifth largest wireless entity
Integrated Seychelles operations to Africa portfolio
2011
50 million
Customer base in Africa within just 17 months of operation
2012
Expanded our Africa presence to
17 countries
and operations began in Rwanda
2013
Acquired Warid Telecom in Uganda, consolidating Airtel Africa’s position as the second largest mobile operator in Uganda
Acquired Warid Telecom in Congo Brazzaville (the second acquisition after Uganda), to become the largest mobile operator
2014
Introduced 4G service in Seychelles, becoming the first commercial LTE operator in Africa
Acquired
2.55 million
yuMobile customers in Kenya
2016
As part of strategic streamlining of our operational footprint, exited from Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone
2017
Airtel Rwanda completed formalities for acquisition of Millicom International Cellular, to combine it with their telecommunication operations in Ghana
2018
Tigo acquisition in Rwanda approved by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA)
Airtel Nigeria awarded the
best promoter of digital services
by the President
Strategic partnership with Telecom Egypt (TE) for global submarine cable systems, wherein, Airtel will get IRUs (Indefeasible Right of Use) on Middle East North Africa (MENA) submarine cable and TE North Cable Systems
2019
Successfully concluded the initial public offering (IPO) of Airtel Africa plc on the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange; raised net proceed of USD 674 Mn
