Airtel Malawi has raised prices of voice and data bundles by 15% and 20% respectively, following the devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha by 44 percent and the rise in cost of fuel and electricity.
According to a statement released today by Airtel, prices for some bundles have been reduced while others remain unchanged.
The company says the changes have been made to allow for a partial cost recovery and have been necessitated by the country’s recent developments in macro-economic factors.
“[These factors] include cumulative loss of value of the Kwacha by 64% since June 2023 and subsequent increase in electricity tariffs by 18% in September 2023 and the increase in diesel price by 42.4%,” says Airtel.
According to the mobile network company, the costs form a major part of its operational costs on a daily basis, and have since significantly increased the cost of doing business.
“At this level of cost escalation, it is unsustainable to continue at the current price levels. It is important that Airtel continues to be sustainable so that it can further invest in the network and ensure better service delivery to its customer,” reads part of the statement.
Some of the changes include a hike in Mofaya Weekly 3GB bundle from K1200 to K1500. Airtel has also discontinued its PaNet Data Bundles which have become obsolete following the introduction of MoFaya bundles.
