What ails Airtel Uganda?

Airtel Uganda is the scrappy underdog that made telecom more affordable, broke the monopoly, and forced competition that benefited the masses. If MTN was the gatekeeper of premium telecom services, Airtel came in with a simple game plan—offering cheaper calls, data, and mobile money services that brought millions of Ugandans into the digital economy. It democratised access. For that, it deserves credit.

One would say Airtel was a result of unfair transaction. Zain an existing company, bought WARID another existing company in the same market! Had it not been for mobile value added services specifically mobile money, reliable internet and quality customer services, MTN would be struggling. Airtel has remained in second place.?

But being the underdog is not enough. Airtel still struggles with execution, customer experience, and ecosystem reliability. It won the price war, but now it must prove it can be more than just the “cheaper alternative.”

Strategy—disrupt, but then what?

Airtel’s strength has always been in disruption. It played the price game well—slashing rates, introducing low-cost bundles, and forcing MTN to rethink its pricing. This made telecom services accessible to more people, but it also created a brand perception problem. When customers see you as “the cheaper network,” they rarely expect quality.?

Unlike MTN, which has built a sticky ecosystem with mobile money, banking partnerships, and enterprise solutions, Airtel has relied too much on cost-cutting. This approach works for grabbing market share but doesn’t guarantee long-term loyalty. Eventually, price wars reach a floor. Then what?

Business model—mass market, thin margins, inconsistent execution

Airtel thrives on mass adoption. It sells volume, not exclusivity. It has a massive subscriber base, but its business model leans heavily on thin margins, which means high churn, and operational efficiency.

Where it stumbles is in execution.?

Network quality fluctuates, customer service is hit or miss, and Airtel Money—one of its biggest assets—feels like an afterthought. The mobile money business is about trust, yet Airtel Money makes simple transactions unnecessarily difficult.

a) Reversing a wrong transaction? A nightmare.

b) Getting clear transaction details? Frustrating.

c) Obtaining KYC (Know Your Customer) information about a fraudster? Next to impossible? Is the data archived in Uganda? Questionable.

If Airtel Money were a bank, it would be one where customers deposit money but struggle to prove their own transactions. That’s a serious issue in a financial ecosystem where transparency, security, and trust are non-negotiable. Can you imagine it is difficult to withdraw money from your merchant account? One wonders how Airtel Money manages to compete with MTN, given the differences in convenience.

Originality—success through necessity, not innovation

Airtel proves that you don’t need to be first to win—you just need to be cheaper, faster, or more aggressive. It did not invent mobile money, but it made it more accessible. It did not pioneer telecom in Uganda, but it broke the monopoly. It wins through necessity, not innovation.

But now, it faces a harder challenge—moving from disruptor to leader. Customers no longer just want affordability; they want reliability and convenience. Mobile money users don’t just need transactions; they need assurance. If Airtel doesn’t tighten up its operational weaknesses, it risks becoming a victim of its own mass-market success.

The bottom line

Airtel made telecom accessible to the masses and forced MTN to be better. That’s its biggest legacy.?

But today, its biggest threat is itself.?

Airtel Money needs serious process improvements. Customer experience must match its ambition. And its brand must move beyond “affordable” to “trustworthy.”

Winning the price war was easy.?

Winning customer loyalty is much harder. Airtel must decide which battle it wants to fight next. And it must fight it with dominating in mind.? What is your experience with Airtel???

Mr Strategy