Airtel Africa has signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar partnership with Xtelify, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, to roll out an advanced AI-driven software platform designed to streamline telecom operations and enhance customer experience across its 14 African markets.
As part of the agreement, Airtel Africa will implement the Xtelify Data Engine and Xtelify Work platforms, equipping 150,000 field agents with data-driven insights to support hyper-targeted market strategies.
The platform will also bolster core functions like spam detection and fraud prevention, strengthening customer security.
Xtelify’s newly launched platform aims to tackle the complexity of telecom operations with an end-to-end solution that improves service delivery, reduces customer churn, and boosts average revenue per user (ARPU).
Airtel Africa said it will adopt Xtelify IQ to enable secure, real-time, omnichannel customer engagement, equipping its business units to deliver hyper-personalized experiences and elevate customer satisfaction.
“This partnership marks a transformative leap in our mission to build Africa’s digital future. By harnessing Airtel’s AI platforms that have proven scale in India, we are simplifying operations and accelerating personalized experiences across our 14 African markets,” said Group Chief Information Officer at Airtel Africa, Jacques Barkhuizen.
Bharti Airtel described the partnership as a strategic move that underscores the synergy between its African operations and its digital innovation arm, reflecting a unified approach to driving technological advancement across the group.
“We are thrilled to partner with Airtel Africa. Combining our Xtelify platform with Airtel Africa’s vision will allow us to address industry-wide challenges like spam and fraud while ensuring customer protection and digital transformation,” said Chief Business Officer, Global Business, Bharti Airtel, Binod Srivastava.
In addition to launching the Xtelify platform, Bharti Airtel also introduced the ‘Airtel Cloud’—a sovereign, telco-grade cloud infrastructure designed to process up to 140 crore (1.4 billion) transactions per minute.
Originally developed to support Airtel’s operations in India, the platform is now being scaled to serve broader enterprise needs across the Indian market.
Hosted on next-generation sustainable data centers and supported by a team of over 300 certified cloud experts, Airtel Cloud provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), advanced connectivity, and Gen-AI powered provisioning.
Airtel’s move marks the latest effort by African telecom operators to harness AI for operational transformation. Recently, MTN Group also began rolling out AI solutions to optimize network traffic and improve service delivery in Nigeria, as part of a broader strategy to integrate responsible AI technologies across its African operations.
