• Revenue-generating subscribers reached 45.5 million, including 15.8 million active data users and 19 million mobile-financial-services users
  • AXIAN is adding external financing for network investment, including a €270 million EBRD facility covering capital expenditure in Kenya and Senegal

The fact

AXIAN Telecom reported first-half 2026 revenue of US$980 million, up 26.5% from a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue rose 25.5% to US$503.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 19.4% to US$203.5 million.

The African telecom group ended the quarter with 45.5 million revenue-generating subscribers, including 15.8 million active data users and 19 million active mobile-financial-services users. Its infrastructure base included 5,210 owned towers and 3,756 shared towers, with a tenancy ratio of 1.35.

Second-quarter net profit fell to US$33.2 million from US$46.8 million. AXIAN attributed the decline partly to fair-value movements in investments and losses associated with the recently integrated Wananchi Group. After the reporting period, the company also secured a €270 million EBRD facility to support capital expenditure and network modernisation in Kenya and Senegal.

The assessment

AXIAN is adding customers while also spending to expand its networks and integrate Wananchi. The new financing in Kenya and Senegal can support more sites, transmission capacity and equipment upgrades, but those investments will take time to appear in operating results.

The fall in quarterly profit is an important counterweight to the revenue growth. AXIAN is serving more customers, yet Wananchi is still contributing losses and investment revaluations also weighed on earnings. The group is therefore growing faster than its profit figures alone might suggest.

For BTW readers, the next results should be read across several measures rather than one headline number. Capital spending, active data users, EBITDA and Wananchi's contribution will show whether the enlarged network is beginning to generate better operating returns as the new investment is deployed.

What to watch

Watch capital expenditure and network additions in Kenya and Senegal, alongside active data users, tower numbers and adjusted EBITDA. Later results should also show whether Wananchi continues to weigh on earnings. Site deployments and network-modernisation milestones would indicate how quickly the new financing is becoming operating infrastructure.