Goriola Bakare steps into a continental role at Airtel Africa on October 1, 2026, taking on the title of Home Broadband Experience Lead. The appointment follows his time leading Airtel Nigeria's home broadband business and a six-month secondment to Bharti Airtel in India, where he deepened his experience with large-scale broadband operations. His career at Airtel spans commercial strategy, product development, digital innovation, and business performance.
The timing matters. Airtel Africa closed its 2025/26 financial year with 903,000 home broadband customers, an 86% increase from the year before. Home broadband revenue grew 119% in constant currency, and average monthly usage hit 195GB per customer. Those are not small numbers for a business that was, until recently, considered secondary to mobile data.
Nigeria sits at the heart of that momentum. Airtel Africa reported strong home broadband growth in the country during the same financial year, alongside a rise in smartphone penetration from 49.6% to 54.9%. More devices in more hands, and a growing appetite for reliable home connectivity, are creating the conditions the company is now racing to meet.
Bakare's mandate is to translate that growth into something consistent across Airtel Africa's markets. He will work with local operating companies on customer acquisition, digital engagement, retention, and scalable commercial models. The group is also investing in fibre and 5G infrastructure, expanding sales channels, and digitising onboarding and service delivery.
The question now is whether the experience and momentum he brings can hold up across markets with very different infrastructure realities. That answer will come in the numbers.
Originally published by TechCabal.