The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is set to lend Airtel Africa an additional $100 million (Sh12.94 billion) for capital expenditure and debt refinancing for its Kenya and Rwanda subsidiaries.
The proposed IFC loan is a top-up on a previous facility of $200 million (Sh25.9 billion) that it supplied Airtel Africa in April 2024. That loan was also for capex and debt restructuring purposes, covering the subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Disclosures show that Airtel Kenya will receive $70 million (Sh9 billion) from the new loan, with Airtel Rwanda getting the remaining $30 million (Sh3.9 billion).
The funding, which is subject to approval by the IFC board, will be delivered in the respective local currencies of Kenya and Rwanda.
“The funding will be used to fund capex requirements and refinance the debt for both operating companies. The project is linked to the previous investment committed in 2024, as the upsizing is for the countries covered in the same investment,” said the IFC in disclosures on the new loan.
“The loan would be under similar terms and conditions as the other committed facilities.” The IFC added that by refinancing existing debt, the two Airtel subsidiaries will be able to free up capital for further network expansion.
The new IFC loan, when disbursed, will bring to three the number of facilities that Airtel Africa has tapped from the financier since 2022.
In May 2022, IFC loaned Airtel Africa $194 million (Sh25.1 billion), targeted at supporting capex requirements for two years in seven of its 14 operating markets/companies, namely Chad, DRC, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Congo, and Zambia.
The expenditure included rolling out net telecom sites, including towers and base stations, upgrading existing sites to support 3G/4G or potentially 5G services, and adding carrier bands and sectors for capacity and network upgrades.
It also financed investment in fibre transmission infrastructure, IT systems, and sales networks across the selected markets.
The capex component of the 2024 loan was directed towards modernising the telecoms networks in Kenya, Rwanda, and DRC, through purchasing equipment on sites for 4G connectivity.
The IFC arranged the two loans through a blended finance model, where it supplied the bulk of the financing directly, and the balance through its Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Programme (MCCP)—the lender’s syndications platform for institutional investors.
The MCCP allows institutional investors and credit insurance companies to invest alongside the IFC on commercial terms in globally diversified loan portfolios.
On the 2022 loan, the IFC directly provided $150 million (Sh19.4 billion) to Airtel, with the MCCP component standing at $44 million (Sh5.7 billion). Last year’s facility had direct funding of $165 million (Sh21.3 billion) from the IFC and $35 million (4.5 billion) from the co-lenders.
London-listed Airtel Africa is majority-owned by Indian telco Bharti Airtel Limited, which holds a 56 percent stake in the unit.
Airtel Africa operates in 14 markets across sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, where it has a 30.1 percent market share in mobile SIM card subscriptions and an 8.9 percent market share in the mobile money segment.
