Private company

Celtel

Celtel was a telecommunications company that operated in several African countries.1

Last updated Oct 18, 2026.

Overview

1998Founded1

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Celtel was a telecommunications company that operated in several African countries. It was founded by Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim.2

How it started

History

Originally known as "MSI Cellular Investments", the company began operating in 1998. In January 2004, the company name was changed to "Celtel International".

In April 2005 the company was acquired by and became a subsidiary of Zain (formerly the Mobile Telecommunications Company). At the time it was purchased by Zain in April 2005, Celtel had about 24 million subscribers in 14 African countries.

On 8 June 2010 the company was purchased by Bharti Airtel from Zain. On 22 November 2010, it was rebranded as 'Airtel'.

From Wikipedia’s article on Celtel, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Timeline

  1. Sep 8, 2007Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1998Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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