Airtel Africa has appointed Goriola Bakare as Home Broadband Experience Lead for the continent, efficient October 1, 2026, after he led Airtel Nigeria’s home broadband business and accomplished a six-month secondment to Bharti Airtel in India.
The appointment comes as Airtel Africa expands its broadband business past conventional cell knowledge companies to seize rising demand for home connectivity.
According to Airtel Africa’s 2026 annual report, the corporate ended its 2025/26 monetary 12 months with 903,000 home broadband prospects, an 86% enhance from the earlier 12 months. Home broadband income grew by 119% in fixed foreign money, whereas common month-to-month utilization reached 195GB per buyer.
“In his new role, Bakare will help shape Airtel Africa’s Group Home Broadband experience agenda, working with operating companies to strengthen customer acquisition,” the telco stated. The goal is to “improve digital engagement, support customer retention and develop scalable commercial models for broadband growth.”
The figures level to a fast-growing business that’s turning into extra necessary to Airtel Africa’s progress technique. The group is investing in fibre and 5G infrastructure, increasing gross sales channels and digitising buyer onboarding and repair supply to appeal to and retain subscribers.
Nigeria is a part of that enlargement. In its Nigeria mobile services report, Airtel Africa stated its home broadband business continued to report sturdy progress through the 2025/26 monetary 12 months. The firm additionally reported that smartphone penetration in Nigeria rose to 54.9%, from 49.6% within the earlier 12 months.
“The appointment represents a further step in Bakare’s career at Airtel,” stated the telecom. “Where he has held senior responsibilities spanning commercial strategy, product development, digital innovation and business performance.”
Bakare’s appointment locations him ready to assist translate that progress right into a extra constant buyer expertise throughout the group’s markets. His obligations embody figuring out business practices that may be tailored throughout working firms, enhancing digital buyer journeys and supporting a scalable home broadband working framework.
Before his new position, Bakare served as Acting Director of Home Broadband Business at Airtel Nigeria from October 2024 to March 2026. He oversaw income progress, product technique, buyer acquisition and retention, buyer lifecycle administration and strategic partnerships.
From April to September 2026, he was seconded to Bharti Airtel in India by way of the corporate’s Talent Exchange Programme. He labored with senior leaders and cross-functional groups to research the Indian business’s broadband methods, working fashions and buyer expertise practices, with a view to making use of related classes throughout Airtel Africa’s markets.
Bakare joined Airtel in 2009 after working in monetary companies, together with roles at Skye Bank and Pacific Holdings. He holds a bachelor’s diploma in Banking and Finance and an MBA in Strategic Management from Babcock University, Nigeria, and is an alumnus of Airtel Africa’s inaugural India-Africa Global Accelerator Programme.
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