Airtel Tanzania on Thursday reaffirmed its long-term commitment to supporting Tanzania’s digital transformation agenda, outlining fresh investments and policy proposals during a national performance review session convened by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the capital, Dodoma.
The high-level meeting, held in Mtumba and officiated by Communications and Information Technology Minister Angellah Jasmine Mbelwa Kairuki, brought together regulators, state institutions, telecom operators and development partners to assess progress toward Tanzania Development Vision 2050 and the Tanzania Digital Economy Development Strategy 2024–2034.
The session underscored the growing centrality of digital infrastructure to Tanzania’s long-term economic planning, as authorities seek to expand connectivity, strengthen data governance frameworks and more accurately measure the digital sector’s contribution to gross domestic product.
Infrastructure as strategic backbone
Speaking during the session, Airtel Tanzania Managing Director Charles Kamoto said the company had invested $316 million between 2021 and 2025 in network expansion and modernization, positioning digital infrastructure as a backbone for economic growth.
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The operator now runs 3,385 sites nationwide, nearly all 4G-enabled, with 139 sites supporting 5G services.
It has also deployed 3,722 kilometres of fibre optic infrastructure to improve domestic and cross-border connectivity.
Airtel is constructing a data centre in Arusha aimed at strengthening service resilience and reducing latency in the Northern Zone. The company also participated in the landing of the 2Africa submarine cable, a global system designed to boost international bandwidth capacity and reinforce Tanzania’s role as a regional digital gateway.
The infrastructure push comes as Tanzania intensifies efforts to eliminate so-called “zero spots” — areas without communication coverage — by 2030, a target the government says will require deeper collaboration and expanded infrastructure sharing among operators.
Financial inclusion and fiscal contribution
Airtel Tanzania reported serving 20.4 million customers and posted annualised revenue of $430 million in fiscal year 2025, with an EBITDA margin of 47.5%.
Its mobile financial services arm, Airtel Money, supports more than 8.4 million users with access to savings, micro-loans, insurance and digital payments.
Between 2021 and 2025, the company said it paid $643 million in taxes and regulatory fees and contributed $110 million in dividends to the government.
It was recognised by the Tanzania Revenue Authority as the most compliant national taxpayer for the 2023/24 fiscal year.
The company estimates it supports over 540,000 indirect jobs nationwide, underscoring the ICT sector’s multiplier effect across logistics, retail and informal enterprises.
Policy reform at the forefront
Despite the sector’s expansion, policymakers acknowledge that official GDP figures understate digital activity. For years, ICT’s contribution has been estimated at 1.6% of GDP, a figure Kairuki said fails to capture the sector’s catalytic impact across industries.
She said work is under way to establish a Digital Economy Satellite Account to provide a more accurate assessment of digital output and its spillover effects.
The minister urged institutions to designate focal persons to feed implementation data into a newly launched monitoring and evaluation system for the national digital strategy, introduced in 2024 by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Kairuki also highlighted progress on guidelines for protecting Critical Information Infrastructure under the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, as well as the drafting of a National Deployment Guideline to address uncoordinated ICT infrastructure rollout.
In parallel, the government is advancing plans for a National Space Programme aimed at strengthening satellite capabilities for communications, security and resource management, while inviting private-sector input into transforming Mtumba into a model smart city.
Industry seeks tax adjustments
As part of its proposals, Airtel called for a reduction in excise duty on telecom services from 17% to 10%, arguing that lower taxes would stimulate usage, widen the tax base and accelerate digital inclusion. It also advocated reinstating VAT exemptions on smartphones to improve device affordability and fast-tracking Environmental Impact Assessment approvals to speed rural network expansion.
Kamoto said sustained public–private collaboration would be critical to unlocking Tanzania’s digital potential as it advances toward Vision 2050.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment from both government and private stakeholders to align infrastructure investment, regulatory reform and data measurement frameworks to ensure the ICT sector becomes a central pillar of Tanzania’s economic and social development.