Airtel Africa names Goriola Bakare Home Broadband Experience Lead to drive pan-African growth
Airtel Africa appointed Nigerian telecom executive Goriola Bakare as Home Broadband Experience Lead effective October 1, 2026, tasking him with scaling broadband growth across the group's African markets. Bakare returns from a six-month secondment at Bharti Airtel in India (April-September 2026) where he studied the operator's home broadband strategies, digital customer journeys, and operational execution under the company's Talent Exchange Programme.
Before the India stint, Bakare spent 18 months as Acting Director of Home Broadband Business at Airtel Nigeria (October 2024-March 2026), overseeing commercial performance, revenue growth, product strategy, and customer acquisition. His 16-year Airtel career spans finance, strategy, digital products, and broadband leadership—including roles as Head of Products and Head of Home Broadband Products, Pricing and Solutions.
In his new group role, Bakare will work with operating companies across Airtel Africa's footprint to strengthen customer acquisition, improve digital engagement, boost retention, and develop scalable commercial models. The appointment signals Airtel Africa's strategic push to diversify beyond traditional mobile voice and data into home broadband—a priority for telcos continent-wide.
For industry watchers, this highlights how African telecom groups are leveraging internal talent exchanges with Indian counterparts to accelerate broadband rollout. For consumers, it may translate to improved home internet options as competition intensifies.
Will Airtel's India-inspired broadband playbook work across diverse African markets, or will local infrastructure gaps require fundamentally different models?