NAIROBI, July 1 – Airtel Kenya has appointed Senegalese telecoms executive Djibril Tobe as its new Managing Director, as the country’s second largest mobile operator looks to build on recent growth and strengthen its position in Kenya’s highly competitive telecoms market.
Tobe takes over from Ashish Malhotra, who is leaving after four years to become Chief Executive Officer of Indus Towers Africa. His appointment comes as Airtel continues to expand its network, mobile money services and broadband business in its bid to narrow the gap with market leader Safaricom.
Before taking on the new role, Tobe served as Managing Director of Airtel Congo B, a position he held from May 2023. He also previously led Airtel Chad and worked as Commercial Director at Airtel Burkina Faso. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Expresso Guinea, Ernst & Young and Coca-Cola.
In a statement, Airtel Kenya’s board said it was confident Tobe’s experience would help drive the company’s next phase of growth while continuing to deliver innovative products and services to customers.
During Malhotra’s tenure, Airtel said it carried out the biggest network expansion in its history, rolling out more than 2,000 network sites across Kenya. The company also introduced 5G services, eSIM technology, fibre connectivity and its Home and Office Smart Connect broadband platform.
The operator also reported strong growth in its financial services business, with Airtel Money’s market share increasing from about 2% to 11% over the past four years.
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, Airtel accounted for 27.6% of the country’s mobile subscriptions in the quarter ended March 2026, compared with Safaricom’s 68.9%. In mobile broadband, Airtel held a 31.8% market share against Safaricom’s 64.5%.
The biggest gap remains in mobile money, where Airtel Money held a 10.9% share of the market, while M-PESA controlled 89.1%. Airtel said its subscriber base grew from 16 million to more than 24 million customers during Malhotra’s time in office, while revenue doubled, although the company does not disclose financial results for its Kenyan business.
