Airtel Money’s cash-prize promotion names three new millionaires in Malawi

Three more Malawians have won K5 million ($2,900) each in the ninth draw of Airtel Money’s Tola Promotion, a cash-incentive scheme designed to encourage greater use of mobile financial services across the country.

The latest winners span a cross-section of Malawi’s economy, from small-scale traders to public sector workers, illustrating the promotion’s reach beyond urban commercial centres into rural and lower-income communities that form the core user base for mobile money platforms.

Daniel Naura, a construction industry worker based in Area 25, said the windfall would benefit both his business and personal finances.

Mabvuto Matewere, a police officer stationed in Monkey Bay, said he had used Airtel Money primarily for routine mobile banking transactions and had not anticipated that ordinary usage would yield a substantial payout.

Albert Chiona, who runs a small business selling secondhand clothing and jeans in Karonga, said the prize money would allow him to expand his trading operations, adding that his win should reassure sceptical users that the promotion is genuine.

Speaking after the draw at Airtel Money’s offices in Lilongwe, the company’s Head of Marketing, Virginia Jere, said the promotion had proven effective in delivering tangible financial benefits to customers.

Since its launch, the Tola Promotion has disbursed a cumulative K270 million to 2,727 winners nationwide — a distribution pattern that reflects the broader strategy among mobile money operators in Sub-Saharan Africa of using cash-prize incentives to deepen transaction volumes and strengthen customer retention in an increasingly competitive digital payments market.

The promotion, which rewards customers for everyday use of the Airtel Money platform, runs from 13 June to 5 August 2026.