Airtel Launches Referral Offer That Pays Users to Invite Friends to MyAirtel App

Airtel Kenya has launched a new referral programme that will allow customers to earn money by inviting family and friends to join the MyAirtel App, introducing a model that turns ordinary app users into brand promoters while tapping into Kenya’s growing appetite for digital side hustles.

The new offer, branded Refer and Earn, comes as telecom firms intensify the race for app users, not just through cheaper bundles, but by attaching financial incentives to customer activity. Under the programme, first-time users who join the MyAirtel App through a referral link or code receive 1GB of free data, while the customer who referred them earns Sh20 every month for five months once the new user buys airtime or data worth at least Sh100 through the app.

The launch pushes beyond a routine customer promotion and enters territory likely to attract wider public interest because it speaks to a larger trend.

More Kenyans are increasingly turning to digital platforms for micro earnings, cashback rewards and small but consistent income streams to cushion themselves against rising living costs. Airtel appears to be positioning itself within that conversation.

What makes the offer stand out is its attempt to turn personal networks into earning channels. In a country where word of mouth has always influenced consumer decisions, Airtel is now placing monetary value on referrals, effectively rewarding customers for doing what many already do informally, recommending products and services they use.

The move could also be read as part of a wider battle for digital dominance in Kenya’s telecom space. Operators are increasingly focusing on getting customers inside apps where they can buy bundles, send money, manage services and interact with multiple products in one place. Once customers are inside that ecosystem, loyalty often grows.

That is where the referral model serves a bigger strategy. It is not only about attracting downloads. It is about driving repeated transactions, app usage and mobile money activity. Because referral earnings are triggered when the invited user spends through the app, the incentive is tied directly to sustained activity, not one off sign ups.

Airtel Kenya Managing Director Ashish Malhotra said the company is deepening investment in digital platforms to improve convenience and expand access to services, while Airtel Money Managing Director Anne Kinuthia-Otieno said the offer is designed to support evolving mobile money needs.

For younger consumers in particular, the offer may carry viral potential. Students, campus users and informal traders could see it as an easy way to monetise social circles, especially in an economy where even modest extra income can matter. The idea of earning simply by referring friends may travel fast on social media and messaging groups.

The offer also strengthens Airtel’s attempt to make the MyAirtel App a broader digital hub, not merely a place to buy airtime. By tying referrals to Airtel Money and layering the offer alongside its Rudishiwa cashback programme, the company is building an argument that the app can be both a service platform and a value-generating tool.

Whether the programme materially shifts customer behaviour will depend on uptake, but it reflects a growing trend in corporate strategy where businesses no longer market only to consumers, but increasingly try to turn consumers into distribution channels themselves.

In that sense, Airtel’s new offer may be as much about changing how telecom growth happens as it is about giving customers Sh20.