It begins with a ping. Your data is gone, and deadlines can’t wait. Maybe you’re a student needing to submit an assignment or a keke driver needing to call a mechanic. In that moment, airtime and data lending isn’t a convenience, it’s a lifeline.
Across the country, millions of Nigerians turn to services like MTN’s Xtratime, Airtel’s Extra Credit, and various fintech platforms when airtime or data runs dry. These microloans are small in value but massive in impact.
A Revenue Engine Hiding in Plain Sight
This seemingly modest service has quietly exploded into a revenue powerhouse for telecom giants:
- MTN Nigeria’s fintech revenue for the first half of 2025 soared 71.8% to ₦83.2 billion, largely driven by Xtratime airtime lending.
- In Q1 2025, MTN fintech revenue rose 57.9% year-on-year to ₦36.1 billion, with airtime lending as the primary driver.
- Analysts estimate that Nigeria’s major telcos, MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile collectively earn over ₦400 billion annually from airtime lending, with fees ranging from 10% to 15%.
These figures reveal more than profit, they highlight how deeply embedded airtime lending has become in everyday life.
Survival, Not Luxury
Borrowing ₦100 in airtime might feel trivial, but for many, it’s vital:
- A student needs urgent data to submit assignments.
- A trader trying to make one last call before stock runs out.
- A parent waiting to reconnect with a child.
Despite service fees, often 15% regardless of loan size, millions rely on these services. In effect, airtime lending is a micro-loan ecosystem born out of necessity and shaped by determination to survive. It keeps people connected, and often offers them some form of dignity.
How It Works and What It Costs
Taking MTN’s Xtratime as an example:
- Users with at least 3 months of airtime history and a minimal balance under ₦75 can borrow via USSD or app.
- If you borrow ₦100, a ₦15 fee is deducted immediately, and you receive ₦85 airtime. Your next recharge will first clear the ₦100 loan.
Across the board, similar terms apply to Airtel’s Extra Credit and others, with fees standardised at around 15%. It’s quick, informal, and widely accessible, but the cumulative cost isn’t negligible.
The Hustler’s Edge Meets a Business Backdrop
For many Nigerian entrepreneurs and gig workers, like barbers, hair stylists, and marketplace sellers, borrowing airtime lets them advertise, complete sales, and stay connected. It’s vitality wrapped in USSD.
On the flip side, telcos have discovered a gold mine. Airtime and data lending turned into a consistent revenue engine that powers both connectivity and profit. What began as a social cushion now fuels fintech growth.
A Double-Edged Sword
Still, this safety net has sharp edges:
- Fees stack up: Borrowing daily at 15% quickly becomes debt.
- Psychological trap: Constant borrowing normalises high-interest “short-term loans.”
- Connectivity instability: High-frequency borrowing can reduce spending capacity elsewhere, like data or food.
Yet, when faced with no alternative, the choice is often stark: be disconnected or pay the price.
Tech That Delivers But Demand Resilience
Airtime lending represents the soul of survival tech: simple, urgent, and powerful. It’s not about revolutionary AI startups. It’s about bandwidth for final exams, business calls, or spiritual connection.
As Nigeria’s fintech scene grows, we risk celebrating only flashy innovations while ignoring these tools quietly keeping people afloat.
Channels of Resilience
Borrowed airtime might seem small, but in many hands, it holds entire moments, connection, income, and hope.
Imagine: a fintech solution that can keep a child’s education moving, a trader’s business alive, or someone’s faith uninterrupted. That’s the reality inside these tiny airtime loans.
When tech becomes human, it’s less about disruption and more about survival. Airtime lending is proof that innovation is most meaningful when it meets urgency.
