Airtel Kenya has announced the appointment of Senegalese telecoms executive Djibril Tobe as its new managing director, marking a significant leadership transition for the country’s second-largest mobile operator. The move comes at a critical moment for the carrier as it seeks to consolidate recent market gains and establish itself as a formidable challenger to Safaricom’s market dominance.
Tobe succeeds Ashish Malhotra, who departs after four years at the helm to take up the role of chief executive at Indus Towers Africa. Malhotra’s tenure was transformative, overseeing rapid expansion and innovation that doubled Airtel Kenya’s revenues and grew its subscriber base from 16 million to more than 24 million customers. It is a high bar that Tobe will need to clear as Airtel looks to sustain momentum in a brutally competitive African telecom market.
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Tobe brings nearly 30 years of telecoms experience across Africa, with previous roles as managing director of Airtel Congo B since May 2023 and Airtel Chad from 2016 to 2023. His performance in Congo led to a Special Award of the CEO of Airtel Africa at the Airtel Africa Leadership Conclave held in March 2026, while his Chad tenure was marked by turning around a struggling business into the market leader.
The appointment arrives amid persistent competition where Safaricom holds commanding market share across all consumer segments. According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, Airtel held a 27.6% share of mobile subscriptions in the quarter ending March 2026, compared with Safaricom’s 68.9%. In mobile broadband, Airtel accounted for 31.8% of subscriptions, while Safaricom led with 64.5%. The gap widens dramatically in mobile money, where the contrast is starkest. Airtel Money’s 10.9% share contrasts sharply with M-PESA’s dominant 89.1%.
This imbalance underscores both the strides Airtel has made under Malhotra’s leadership and the scale of the challenge ahead in Kenya’s payments market. Under Tobe’s leadership, Airtel Kenya is expected to build on the momentum achieved, focusing on expanding digital financial services to close the gap with M-PESA, strengthening broadband and home connectivity offerings, and leveraging 5G and next-generation technologies to capture new market segments. His appointment signals that Airtel plans to sustain its growth trajectory and sharpen its competitive edge in one of Africa’s most dynamic telecoms markets. For Kenyan consumers who have long expressed frustration with limited meaningful alternatives to Safaricom, Tobe’s track record of market turnarounds offers hope that genuine competition may finally intensify.
