Airtel Africa on a charm offensive as enabler of young Africans’ dreams and ambitions in a new ‘Reason to Imagine’ brand campaign  After more than 5 years of profitably endearing itself to the African continent as the ‘Smartphone Network’, Airtel Africa is on a new charm offensive to functionally and emotionally win more hearts and share of wallets of the continent’s youth by positioning itself as an enabler of young people’s dreams and ambitions through relevant digital and financial inclusion solutions.

For more than 5 years, Airtel Africa has been positioning itself as the ‘Smartphone Network’ and putting its money where its mouth is, with key investments in improving internet connectivity especially achieving 100% 4G connectivity at all its sites, including in Uganda. And the market has rewarded the telco with significant growth⏤ 140 million customers, USD 5.3 billion in gross revenue and USD 750 million in net profit as of March 2023.  

As the continent prepares for the next phase of digital growth, backed by digital money and the game-changing 5G technology, the telco is adding “building a deeper emotional connection” with the continent’s youth to its charm-offensive. 

In a new continental campaign, headlined by a new strapline ⏤ ‘Reason to Imagine’, the telco wants to position itself as an “enabler of young people’s dreams and ambitions” by “celebrating the energy, creativity, and innovation of Africa’s young people”.

The campaign, according to Airtel, is “driven by the insight that in Africa, imagination is the only qualification that matters and showcases Airtel Africa’s role in harnessing this potential by delivering relevant solutions to consumers that enhance digital and financial inclusion”. 

Unveiling the campaign to stakeholders in Kampala, yesterday, 17th May 2023, Airtel Uganda’s Managing Director, Manoj Murali said, “It’s a well-understood fact youth are central to achieving Uganda’s potential. About 53% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 30 – and empowering this new generation is transformative for the future of this country and the region”. 

“Through this new campaign, we are reaffirming Airtel Uganda’s commitment to advancing the progress of Africa’s young people by providing the connectivity to turn every situation into an opportunity,” he said.  

The ‘Reason to Imagine’ brand campaign is Airtel Africa’s most ambitious yet and is a combo of mass media campaigns as well as other market engagements.

In Uganda, the campaign feeds into other ongoing and recent engagements by the telco, such as ‘The Uganda Needs More of You’ campaign which focused on unravelling the potential of young Ugandans who are harnessing the power of technology to transform their lives and their communities.

The telco is also sponsoring “The Voice Africa”, a youth-centre music and entertainment competition. The competition, according to the telco is “giving the youth a reason to imagine by partnering with The Voice to bring the show to the continent”. 

“The Voice Africa showcases exceptional African musical talent in a show that also features a high-profile panel of coaches and TV hosts. One of the 100 selected talents will eventually be crowned ‘The Voice Africa’ in a live show that is currently airing on free-to-air TV stations across the continent and Airtel TV. This is one of the initiatives that Airtel Africa has invested in to promote youthful talents and expertise in education, sports, and the innovation sectors,” the telco said in a statement.