Airtel Africa and Xtelify strike major AI partnership across 14 markets

Airtel Africa has entered into a multi-year, multi-million-dollar partnership with Xtelify, a fully owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, in a strategic move aimed at transforming its telecom operations across 14 African countries using cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools.

The agreement will see Airtel Africa deploy Xtelify’s AI-powered software platform including Xtelify Data Engine, Xtelify Work, and Xtelify IQ to enhance customer experience, reduce churn, and improve operational efficiency.

The platform is designed to simplify telecom operations across every layer of the value chain, helping telcos focus on customer-centric growth and innovation.

Xtelify Data Engine and Work will empower Airtel Africa’s 150,000-strong field team with real-time market insights, enabling micro-targeted strategies. Meanwhile, Xtelify IQ will drive secure, omnichannel engagement, helping to deliver personalised customer journeys and combat spam and fraud.

“This partnership marks a transformative leap in our mission to build Africa’s digital future,” said Mr Jacques Barkhuizen, Group Chief Information Officer at Airtel Africa.

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“By harnessing Airtel’s AI platforms, which have already proven their scale in India, we are simplifying our operations while accelerating hyper-personalised customer experiences across our 14 African markets.”

He added that the initiative reflects “Airtel leveraging Airtel”, creating internal synergies to drive innovation, sustainable growth, and unmatched value across the continent.

Xtelify, which houses all of Airtel’s digital assets and capabilities, also announced the launch of its AI-powered, future-ready software platform tailored for global telecom operators. The platform features a converged data engine for AI-led insights, a workforce platform for real-time task management, and an experience platform to oversee the entire customer journey.

Commenting on the development, Chief Business Officer ,Global Business, Bharti Airtel, Mr Binod Srivastava, said:
“We are delighted to partner with Airtel Africa. By combining our innovative Xtelify platform with Airtel Africa’s vision, we will enable secure, intelligent, and scalable digital transformation, while addressing industry challenges like spam and fraud. Together, we aim to set new standards for telecom excellence.”

In a separate milestone, Xtelify also introduced ‘Airtel Cloud’, a sovereign, telco-grade cloud platform developed for Airtel’s internal operations in India and now being extended to Indian enterprises.

Capable of handling 140 crore transactions per minute, Airtel Cloud is hosted on next-generation, sustainable data centres and operated by over 300 certified cloud professionals.

The platform offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and advanced connectivity, backed by Gen-AI-powered provisioning for seamless scalability and automation.

With secure migration, low operating costs, and no vendor lock-in, Airtel Cloud is positioned as a robust and flexible solution for businesses seeking digital growth and resilience.

Through these innovations, Airtel continues to strengthen its position as a global leader in digital connectivity, while enabling Africa and India to embrace the future of telecom and enterprise technology.