Airtel Africa and Xtelify Partner to Drive AI-Led Digital Transformation
Airtel Africa has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Xtelify, the digital arm of Bharti Airtel India. This collaboration is set to transform Airtel’s operations across 14 African countries using AI-powered software platforms that focus on customer experience, efficiency, and innovation.
Xtelify, a fully owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, houses the company’s digital assets. It recently launched an advanced AI platform designed to simplify telecom operations. The platform improves customer journeys, reduces churn, and boosts revenue.
Transforming Telecom Through AI
The new platform addresses every layer of the telecom value chain. It includes:
- Xtelify Data Engine for deep insights
- Xtelify Work for workforce task automation
- Xtelify IQ for real-time, secure customer engagement
By using these platforms, Airtel Africa’s field team of over 150,000 employees will access smarter tools. These tools will offer market insights, improve productivity, and help fight spam and fraud.
Leadership Speaks: A Shared Vision
According to Jacques Barkhuizen, Group CIO of Airtel Africa, the partnership is a major milestone.
“This marks a leap forward in our mission to build Africa’s digital future,” he said. “By using platforms that are already successful in India, we will simplify operations and improve customer experiences across our markets.”
He also highlighted that the deal is “Airtel leveraging Airtel”, a powerful synergy between two regions of the same group.
On the Indian side, Binod Srivastava, Chief Business Officer at Bharti Airtel, shared his excitement.
“We are proud to collaborate with Airtel Africa. Our goal is to solve tough industry problems like fraud and spam. Together, we’ll raise the standard for telecom services across the continent.”
Cloud Power: Introducing Airtel Cloud
Alongside this partnership, Xtelify launched Airtel Cloud, a sovereign cloud platform initially designed for Airtel’s operations in India.
This cloud platform processes up to 140 crore transactions per minute. It is now being extended to businesses across India and, potentially, Africa. Hosted in sustainable next-gen data centers and managed by over 300 certified experts, Airtel Cloud offers:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- AI-powered provisioning for effortless scaling
It also promises secure migration, reduced costs, and flexibility with no vendor lock-ins.
What This Means for Africa’s Digital Future
This partnership is more than a software deployment, it is a strategic leap toward a digitally empowered Africa. With proven systems from India now being deployed in Africa, Airtel is bridging continents through technology.
Furthermore, the collaboration brings a strong focus on customer protection and digital inclusion. The result is a stronger, smarter, and more connected telecom ecosystem for millions of Africans.
