Summary
Airtel Networks Limited (Airtel Nigeria), commonly known as Airtel, is a leading mobile network operator in Nigeria. According to the Subscribers statistics released by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on 30 August 2019, Airtel Nigeria has 26.8% mobile telephone market share and 46.8 million subscribers. The company is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, the holding firm for Bharti Airtel's operations in 14 countries in Africa.[1][2]
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | |
Area served | Nigeria |
Key people | Surendran Chemmikotil (MD and CEO) |
| Products | |
| Parent | Airtel Africa |
| Website | www |
Location edit
Airtel Nigeria is headquartered at Plot L2, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, a major economic nerve-point in Nigeria.
History edit
The company was founded in 2001 as Econet Nigeria and was awarded Digital Mobile License (DML) for communication service in Nigeria. It made history on August 5, 2001, by becoming the first telecommunications service provider to launch commercial GSM services in Nigeria. In 2004, Vodacom took charge of the company as management changed hands. Later in 2004, Vee Networks took the reins of the company and became known as Vmobile. In May 2006, Vmobile was acquired by Celtel. In 2008, Zain Group, another telecommunications company acquired all Celtel International's shares of over $3 billion. As a result of this acquisition, all operations of Celtel Africa was rebranded from Celtel to Zain. In 2010, Bharti Airtel, the parent company of Airtel Nigeria, completed the acquisition of Zain Group's Africa business in a $10.7 billion transaction.[3]
Overview edit
Airtel Nigeria is the second-largest telecommunications company in Nigeria by number of customers, behind MTN Nigeria. It has an estimated 46.8 million subscribers representing 26.8% market share and in terms of mobile internet users, Airtel Nigeria has the second-largest users with 32.4 million subscribers in July 2019.[4]
Capital Market Listing edit
On July 9, 2019, Airtel Africa, the holding firm of Airtel Nigeria and Bharti Airtel's Africa subsidiary, listed 3,758,151,504 ordinary shares on the main board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at an offer price of ₦363 per ordinary share.[5]
Governance edit
Segun Ogunsanya is the past managing director and chief executive officer of Airtel Networks Limited in Nigeria since November 2012. Prior to his current appointment, he was the managing director and chief executive officer of Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Inc.[6][7] On 6 May 2021, Airtel announced C. Surendran as managing director and chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria.[8] He is to take over from Mr. Segun Ogunsaya as the managing director with effect from August 1, 2021. He was the past CEO in Airtel India and delivered exceptional performances which brought about increase in the company's revenue in India.[9]
References edit
- ^ Sesan (30 December 2018). "Glo overtakes Airtel, emerges Nigeria's second largest telco". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Just in: Airtel leaves behind Globacom, becomes Nigeria's second largest network". Vanguard News. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Nigeria Airtel ownership controversy: Econet floors Bharti-Airtel at Appeal Court - Premium Times Nigeria". 19 February 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Airtel overtakes Globacom, mobile subscription peaks at 174.67m". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "Airtel lists 3.7 billion shares on NSE". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Airtel Nigeria appoints Segun Ogunsanya as CEO". Channels Television. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "Segun Ogunsanya: A good ambassador for Nigeria". TheCable. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "Surendran replaces Ogunsanya as CEO of Airtel Nigeria". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ "Airtel Nigeria appoints CEO". 5 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.