(Ecofin Agency) - Airtel Africa, operating in 14 markets across sub-Saharan Africa, is gearing up to take its mobile money subsidiary public in 2025. The initiative was announced by CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya, on May 9 during a press conference held to unveil Airtel Africa's quarterly results.

Ogunsanya also disclosed that Airtel Money aims to enter new markets ahead of its IPO. "We will continue to bring additional countries into the envelope. We are still a year from that IPO,” he said, without specifying the listing location.

Citing sources close to the telecom group, Bloomberg reported in March that Airtel Africa was still hesitating between stock markets in the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and Europe. The second-largest telecom operator in Africa had previously announced in 2021 its intention to list its mobile money division within the next four years. This decision came after investments from the American private equity fund TPG ($200 million) and payment solutions giant MasterCard ($100 million) into Airtel Money.

Airtel Money, operational in 14 sub-Saharan African markets, stands as the most profitable subsidiary of the London and Lagos-listed operator. Mobile money is thriving in Africa, where a significant portion of the population lacks access to traditional banking services. According to a report published in April 2023 by the GSMA, the continent accounted for 781 million mobile money accounts in 2022, representing 48.8% of the total global accounts.

The same report indicates that $836.5 billion flowed through mobile money in Africa in 2022, comprising 66.3% of the worldwide mobile money transaction value for that year.