Airtel Africa II Upsizing

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The proposed transaction (“the Project”) entails the commitment of two new A-Loan facilities to Airtel Africa’s (AA) subsidiaries in Kenya and Rwanda, of respectively (i) US$70m KES equivalent to Airtel Kenya and (ii) US$30m RWF equivalent to Airtel Rwanda, together (‘the Operating Companies or ‘the Opcos’ or the ‘Subsidiaries’). The funding will be used to fund CAPEX requirement and refinance the debt for both Opcos. The project is linked to the previous investment - Airtel II #48663, committed in 2024, as the upsizing is for the countries covered in the same investment.Airtel Africa (‘AA’ or the “Company”) is an integrated provider of telecommunications (voice and data services) and mobile money services with a presence in 14 countries throughout the African continent via AA’s subsidiaries. The company has an asset-light business model and mainly operates telecommunication networks, data centers, and distribution networks such as sales shops and Airtel Money branches. AA has divested most of its telecommunications towers portfolio to reputable tower companies (‘TowerCos’) and partners with them to facilitate the expansion of its networks by either (i) leasing space on pre-existing towers, or (ii) contracting TowerCos to erect towers specific to its network coverage needs. AA currently maintains a limited number of strategic tower sites and has no immediate future plans to materially expand its owned towers portfolio.This will be IFC’s third investment in Airtel Africa after two previous investments respectively Airtel I #43749 in 2022 and Airtel II, which were disclosed at https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/43749/airtel-africa, and at https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/48663/airtel-africa-ii. The first project focused on expanding the company's network infrastructure and included the installation of new telecom towers and deploying advanced technologies to improve network coverage. The second investment aimed at promoting digital inclusion and financial services through the expansion of Airtel Money to increase financial inclusion. Environmental and social (E&S) performance for both investments has been Satisfactory.