Airtel Kenya has named Senegalese telecoms executive Djibril Tobe as its new managing director, replacing Ashish Malhotra, who is leaving the company after four years to become chief executive of Indus Towers Africa.
Tobe takes over after serving as managing director of Airtel Congo B since May 2023. Before that, he led Airtel Chad and also worked as commercial director at Airtel Burkina Faso.
Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at Expresso Guinea, Ernst & Young and Coca-Cola.
His appointment comes after a period of strong growth for Airtel Kenya, which has steadily increased its presence in the country’s mobile, broadband and financial services markets.
“We welcome Djibril Tobe to his role and are confident that his expertise will steer Airtel Kenya to the next level as we continue delivering innovative and relevant solutions,” the company’s board said in a statement.
During Malhotra’s tenure, Airtel Kenya carried out the largest network expansion in its history, rolling out more than 2,000 sites across the country.
The company also launched 5G services, introduced eSIM technology, expanded its fibre offerings and rolled out its Home and Office Smart Connect broadband platform.
Airtel also strengthened its mobile money business over the same period. According to the company, Airtel Money’s market share grew from about 2% to 11% in four years.
The operator said it doubled its revenue under Malhotra’s leadership and increased its customer base from 16 million to more than 24 million subscribers. However, it does not disclose financial results for its Kenyan business.
Despite that progress, Airtel is still behind market leader Safaricom in several key segments.
According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya for the quarter ended March 2026, Airtel accounted for 27.6% of mobile subscriptions, while Safaricom held 68.9%. In mobile broadband, Airtel had a 31.8% share compared with Safaricom’s 64.5%.
The biggest gap is in mobile money, where Airtel Money held a 10.9% market share during the period, while Safaricom’s M-PESA controlled 89.1% of the market.
Tobe now takes charge as Airtel Kenya looks to build on recent growth and further enhance its network, broadband and digital financial services business in one of East Africa’s most competitive telecoms markets.
