Airtel Africa has signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar strategic partnership with Xtelify, the digital subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel, to deploy AI-powered software platforms across its 14 African markets.
The partnership will see Xtelify provide three core platforms to Airtel Africa: Data Engine for AI-driven insights, Work for real-time workforce management, and IQ for omnichannel customer engagement. The technology is designed to help telecommunications companies reduce operational complexity while improving customer experience and reducing churn.
The deal represents a significant internal synergy for the Airtel group, with the Indian parent company’s proven digital capabilities being leveraged to transform operations across Africa. Xtelify’s platforms have already demonstrated scale in India’s massive telecom market.
“This partnership marks a transformative leap in our mission to build Africa’s digital future,” said Jacques Barkhuizen, Group Chief Information Officer at Airtel Africa. “By harnessing Airtel’s AI platforms that have proven scale in India, we are not only simplifying our operations but also accelerating hyper-personalized experiences for our customers.”
The deployment will empower Airtel Africa’s 150,000-strong field team with market insights for micro-targeted strategies and enable critical security features including spam and fraud protection for customers across the continent.
Binod Srivastava, Chief Business Officer for Global Business at Bharti Airtel, emphasized the partnership’s focus on addressing industry challenges: “We will drive their digital transformation and address industry’s most complex challenges like fighting spam and fraud to ensure utmost customer protection.”
Alongside the African partnership, Xtelify also announced the launch of Airtel Cloud, a sovereign, telco-grade cloud platform initially developed for Airtel’s Indian operations. The platform, capable of handling 1.4 billion transactions per minute, is now being extended to serve Indian businesses with infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings.
The cloud platform operates from next-generation sustainable data centers with AI-based provisioning and is managed by 300 certified cloud experts, promising secure migration, scalable solutions, and competitive pricing without vendor lock-ins.
The partnership reflects the growing trend of telecommunications companies leveraging AI and digital platforms to modernize operations and enhance customer service in increasingly competitive markets. For Airtel Africa, which operates across 14 countries on the continent, the technology deployment could provide significant operational efficiencies and competitive advantages in customer retention and experience.
