Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel to invest $2.2 billion to expand digital lending

Bharti Airtel will invest 200 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) in its financial arm over the next few years, India’s second-largest mobile carrier by number of users said on Monday, as it steps up its push into digital lending.

The capital will be infused into its subsidiary, Airtel Money, which received a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India on February 13.

Airtel’s expansion comes as competition intensifies in India’s non-bank lending sector, where conglomerates such as Jio Financial Services and established players like Bajaj Finance are scaling up retail credit operations.

The move strengthens Airtel’s financial services business as it diversifies beyond telecom into areas such as data centres, cloud and enterprise services.

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The telecom major will contribute 70% of the 200 billion Indian rupees capital, with key shareholder Bharti Enterprises providing the remaining, Airtel said in a press release.

The move “will leverage the large Airtel customer base to build the next growth engine for the company and further diversify its portfolio,” it added.