Airtel unveils Rs 20,000-crore NBFC war chest to scale digital lending

Bharti Airtel

• Airtel to invest Rs 20,000 crore in Airtel Money NBFC unit
• Airtel funds 70%, Bharti Enterprises 30%
• Airtel aims to build a top digital lending platform in India

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Bharti Airtel on February 23 announced a Rs 20,000-crore capital infusion in its NBFC subsidiary, Airtel Money Ltd, over the next few years, marking one of its largest strategic bets outside telecom. Airtel will contribute 70 percent of the capital and the remaining 30 percent will come from the promoter group through Bharti Enterprises Ltd.

The announcement came 10 days after Airtel Money received its non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence from the Reserve Bank of India, formally enabling the telecom major to scale its digital lending ambitions.

Airtel’s push into full-scale lending builds on its existing Lending Service Provider (LSP) platform, which the company says has disbursed over Rs 9,000 crore in loans over the past two years. The platform, powered by a data and analytics engine comprising over 500 data scientists, has delivered what Airtel describes as “industry-best” delinquency outcomes through robust underwriting and real-time risk monitoring.

“The success of our LSP platform over the past two years is proof of our ability to combine technology, data, and customer trust to deliver impact at a national scale. We have built one of India’s most trusted and scalable digital credit engines — reaching millions with high-quality credit supported by industry-best performance metrics,” Bharti Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal said in a statement.

“Our NBFC expansion strengthens this foundation and reflects our ambition to build a differentiated, future-ready digital lending business—one that stands for trust, innovation, and financial inclusion.”

India’s formal credit-to-GDP ratio stands at 53 percent, according to Care Edge Ratings, underscoring the significant headroom for lending. Airtel’s entry as a capitalised NBFC signals its intent to narrow the credit gap, particularly among underserved and digitally active consumers.

The company plans to seamlessly integrate the NBFC’s disbursement journey with its existing LSP platform while maintaining operational segregation between the two. The strategy leverages Airtel’s vast customer base and digital distribution network, positioning financial services as a key growth engine and portfolio diversification play, it said.

With strong telecom cash flows, a massive subscriber base, and deep analytics capabilities, Airtel is now seeking to replicate its telecom scale in digital finance — aiming to build one of India’s largest and most trusted digital lending platforms.