India's Bharti Airtel is continuing its African expansion, revealing plans to spend $25 million in Malawi on a 3G network and on deploying mobile money service Airtel Money.
India's largest mobile operator revealed the investment plans after a meeting between CEO Manoj Kohli and Malawi president Joyce Banda, the IANS news agency reported.
Bharti Airtel has also pledged to make a $10 million investment in green energy in the nation by the end of the financial year.
Malawi has a population of around 13.9 million. Research firm Buddecomm estimates that the market has a mobile penetration of 29%.
Bharti Airtel first entered Africa through the $10.7 billion acquisition of Saudi operator Zain's African assets in 16 countries.
While its African operations have been a drain on group finances and the company has encountered unexpected legal and regulatory setbacks, Bharti Airtel has remained committed to the market, and Airtel Africa now operates GSM networks in 20 counties.
In September, Bharti Airtel allocated $100 million to set up shop in Rwanda, using part of the $1 billion spending commitment announced during that May.
The operator first launched Airtel Money in India in February.