Airtel Uganda Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Soumendra Sahu (L) hands over a UGX 42.6 billion dividend cheque to NSSF Managing Director Patrick Ayota at a press conference held in Kampala.
By Maria Mariam Namala
KAMPALA — Airtel Uganda has paid Shs42.6 billion in dividends to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), rewarding the pension fund for its 10.6 per cent shareholding in the telecommunications company.
Airtel Uganda handed NSSF a cheque worth Shs42,609,880,000 in Kampala on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, in a payout that further highlights the returns generated from the Fund’s investment in the company.
The dividend comes shortly after NSSF announced a record interest rate of 22.53 per cent for the 2025/26 financial year, with Shs5.44 trillion set to be credited to members’ accounts.
Airtel Uganda Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Soumendra Sahu congratulated NSSF on the interest rate declaration, saying the dividend demonstrated the potential benefits of investing workers’ long-term savings in productive businesses.
He said Airtel had continued to create value for shareholders through expanding its network, improving operational efficiency and strengthening customer service.
Sahu said the company’s growth strategy would also focus on extending connectivity to communities that remain difficult to reach through conventional infrastructure.
Earlier this month, Airtel Uganda launched satellite-to-mobile connectivity in partnership with Starlink, allowing compatible smartphones to access SMS and limited data services in areas beyond the reach of traditional mobile networks.
Airtel said the service makes it possible to extend communication services into previously underserved areas and forms part of its wider investment in technology and network expansion.
“Growth should give us the capacity to take opportunity further, including to communities and places that have traditionally been difficult to reach,” Sahu said.
NSSF Managing Director Patrick Ayota said the dividend demonstrated the importance of investing members’ savings in businesses with the potential to generate sustainable long-term returns.
He commended Airtel’s management for balancing shareholder returns with continued investment in the company’s growth.
Ayota disclosed that NSSF acquired about 4.21 billion Airtel Uganda shares for approximately Shs199 billion on behalf of its members. He said a volume discount reduced the Fund’s effective purchase price to Shs47.17 per share.
By June 2026, Ayota said, the value of the shares had risen to Shs152 per share, representing growth of more than 300 per cent from the effective purchase price.
He attributed part of NSSF’s strong investment performance, and consequently the record 22.53 per cent interest rate declared for members, to returns from investments such as Airtel Uganda.
“We hold a fund on behalf of our 2.6 million members with balances,” Ayota said, adding that the investment in Airtel had been made on behalf of the savers whose funds NSSF manages.
Airtel Uganda said it would continue investing in network expansion, technology and strategic partnerships as it seeks to support Uganda’s digital transformation and wider economic activity.
The company is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa, a telecommunications group providing mobile telecommunications and mobile money services across 14 African countries.