An African empire is being built at a pace that the rest of the world can no longer ignore. Originating from Madagascar, AXIAN is now present in 21 countries, employs approximately 9,200 people, and claims 44 million mobile customers. Its leader, Hassanein Hiridjee, aims not just to sell phone plans: he combines telecommunications, energy, financial services, and e-commerce to tackle the main obstacles to the continent’s growth.
The story is global, but it also has a strong French thread. Hiridjee has both Malagasy and French backgrounds, works with Xavier Niel, and relies on European institutions to finance his expansion. While major Western groups reassess their presence in Africa, AXIAN embodies the opposite movement: a capitalism born on the continent, determined to scale up and control more of its strategic infrastructures.
From Madagascar to 21 Countries: A Spectacular Ascent
AXIAN was established in its current form in 2015 by Hassanein Hiridjee and his brother Amin, building on older family activities. In a decade, the group has transitioned from being primarily a Malagasy player to becoming a pan-African conglomerate. According to a recent profile in Le Monde, its revenue approached $3 billion in 2025.
Telecommunications remain its main engine, accounting for about half of its revenue. The number of mobile customers has surged from 3 million to 44 million in ten years. Under the Yas brand, AXIAN holds a leading position in Madagascar and Togo and has established itself as a major player in Tanzania. It is also investing in towers, submarine cables, fiber optics, and data centers, which constitute the invisible backbone of the digital economy.
Why AXIAN’s Bet Goes Beyond Telecommunications
The group’s logic is based on a simple idea: the same households and businesses that need a connection often also require electricity and financial services. AXIAN is therefore developing mobile money, microcredit, and banking solutions while deploying energy projects. Its WeLight branch notably offers solar solutions in areas where the electrical grid remains insufficient or absent.
This strategy creates bridges between sectors. A mobile tower is only useful if it is powered. A connected phone gains value when its owner can pay, save, borrow, or sell online. A small business can grow faster when it simultaneously has electricity, internet, and a means of payment. AXIAN aims to control this chain of essential needs.
Hundreds of Millions to Accelerate
Ambition requires substantial capital. In June 2026, AXIAN Telecom secured financing of up to â¬170 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The funds are intended to support investments in mobile networks, fiber optics, equipment, and software, particularly in Senegal and Kenya.
Almost simultaneously, AXIAN Energy secured a $60 million facility from Mauritius Commercial Bank to expand its renewable energy portfolio across several African countries. These operations add to bond issuances totaling approximately $1 billion completed in 2022 and 2025. They demonstrate that the group has crossed a threshold: it can now mobilize international markets and development banks.
Jumia, a Signal No One Can Ignore
The shift towards e-commerce is equally strategic. AXIAN has become a shareholder in Jumia, a pan-African platform listed in New York, and Hassanein Hiridjee was elected to its supervisory board in May 2026. This presence places the leader at the heart of another continental challenge: building a profitable digital distribution network despite distances, regulatory diversity, fragmented payments, and costly logistics.
For Jumia, AXIAN’s operational experience in 21 countries can facilitate the transition from a growth race to a more sustainable model. For AXIAN, e-commerce naturally complements telecommunications and mobile finance. The group does not control Jumia, but it positions itself where digital infrastructures meet African consumers.
The France-Africa Link is Changing
Hassanein Hiridjee is also a French citizen and studied at a business school in France. He maintains close ties with Parisian economic circles and has partnered with Xavier Niel to establish a branch of Ãcole 42 in Antananarivo, which offers free training in digital professions. This relationship illustrates a new flow of capital, skills, and networks between France and Africa.
The change is significant. For decades, the economic relationship has often been narrated from the seats of French multinationals. AXIAN partially reverses this perspective: the decision-making center is African, the priority markets are African, and French or European partners become sources of funding, technology, or training. This rebalancing can create opportunities for French companies, but it also requires them to treat their African partners as full-fledged economic powers.
A Powerful Model, but Not Without Risks
AXIAN’s trajectory does not guarantee automatic success. Telecommunications, energy, and banking are highly regulated sectors. Each acquisition exposes the group to currency fluctuations, tax changes, political instability, and government requirements. Rapid expansion can also strain balance sheets, complicate team integration, and multiply operational risks.
Nevertheless, the group claims to maintain a startup culture and cost discipline. The rating agency S&P, cited by Le Monde, highlights its ability to take over underperforming assets, invest, and then improve services and profitability. The real test will be to maintain this efficiency as the scope expands and funding needs increase.
Why This Ascent Could Change the Game
Africa is not lacking in young consumers, entrepreneurs, or resources. It still lacks, in many regions, reliable electricity, affordable connectivity, accessible credit, and efficient logistics networks. It is precisely in these gaps that AXIAN builds its value. The group bets that by solving several problems simultaneously, it can gain millions of customers while accelerating local activity.
Hiridjee also emphasizes the need to foster a network of small and medium-sized enterprises, beyond just the âunicornâ tech companies. This vision is crucial: an economy does not transform solely with a few billion-dollar champions, but with businesses capable of creating jobs, paying taxes, and providing everyday services.
AXIAN is therefore not just the story of a billionaire or a rapidly growing conglomerate. It is a real-world test for a new generation of pan-African groups. If they succeed in financing essential infrastructures, keeping their decision-making centers on the continent, and building accessible services, they can permanently alter the economic power dynamics between Africa, Europe, and the rest of the world.
Sources
- Le Monde, profile of Hassanein Hiridjee and development of AXIAN, highlighted in early August 2026.
- AXIAN Group, election of Hassanein Hiridjee to Jumia’s supervisory board, May 28, 2026.
- Billionaires.Africa, â¬170 million financing for AXIAN Telecom, June 15, 2026.
- Billionaires.Africa, $60 million financing for AXIAN Energy, June 16, 2026.