Airtel Mobile Commerce NV, which operates as Airtel Money and is the fintech arm of Airtel Africa Plc, has tapped International Finance Corporation as an anchor investor ahead of its planned initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
IFC, the World Bank Group’s private-sector investment arm, has proposed to invest up to $90 million (about £67.2 million) as a cornerstone investor in Airtel Money’s IPO, according to a disclosure.
IFC said its participation as a cornerstone investor may catalyze significant private capital mobilization, and re-enforce the viability of large-scale equity exits in Africa and strengthen exit pathways for future investors, thereby contributing to the broader development of African capital markets.
An exit of this size matters for a venture market where early-stage funding still runs well ahead of later rounds. Liners, which tracks the software built for Africa along with the investors and funding behind it, shows that pattern across the African tech ecosystem. A successful London listing would give later-stage investors a working example of capital leaving the market at scale.
Airtel Money is the digital financial services arm of Airtel Africa, which is majority owned by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Airtel-led Bharti Airtel Ltd. The company plans to list on the LSE via an IPO that could value it around $8-9 billion. The IPO will comprise an offer for sale by existing shareholders to raise about $800 million.
The digital payments company counts private equity firm TPG, sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, Mastercard and Abu Dhabi-based Chimera as its investors. The four investors had put in a total of $550 million in 2021 to buy stakes from Airtel Africa through secondary transactions. TPG's The Rise Fund and QIA invested $200 million each, Mastercard pitched in with $100 million and Chimera contributed $50 million. The investment valued Airtel Money$2.65 billion at the time.
Airtel Money’s offering is expected to be one of the largest share sales by an African business and among London’s biggest IPOs in recent years. The company provides mobile wallet, payments, and broader financial services to nearly 53 million monthly active users across 13 Sub-Saharan African markets. Its area of operations includes Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, and Madagascar.