Airtel Uganda has made a major breakthrough in the fight against digital fraud by launching Africa’s first AI-powered Anti-Spam SMS alert service.
The innovative solution, unveiled in Kampala, is designed to detect and block fraudulent and unsolicited messages before they reach users, helping to combat rising cyber scams across the country.
Airtel Uganda Managing Director Som Soumendra revealed that the telecom company currently processes approximately 1.5 million SMS messages monthly. Of these, 99.1% of spam messages are being effectively filtered out using the new system.
“This is based on both artificial intelligence and network intelligence,” Soumendra explained. “The model evolves with time—it learns and adapts as scammers change their tactics. We’re confident the detection rate will increase to 99.7% or even 99.8% in the near future.”
He emphasized the importance of spam detection in preventing fraud, noting that “90% of scams start with a spam message—be it a suspicious link, OTP request, or PIN phishing attempt.”
Uganda reportedly suffers losses amounting to UGX 65 billion annually due to bank fraud, much of which stems from spam SMS.
Hon. Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, Minister of ICT and National Guidance, commended Airtel for this milestone. “This is the first of its kind in Africa,” he said, urging the audience to applaud the telecom giant. He noted that innovations like the Anti-Spam service align with Uganda’s policy objective to become a digitally enabled, innovative, and safe society.
Dr. Baryomunsi also highlighted the broader role of ICT in Uganda’s development. “Technology is useful, but it comes with challenges such as online safety,” he said. “Let’s use digital platforms for development, not for spreading disinformation or spam, especially during this political season.”
Executive Director of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Eng. Nyombi Tembo, also praised Airtel’s initiative.
“Scam follows spam,” he remarked, adding that the UCC had already established an AI task force in 2024 to foster such innovations.
“Airtel Uganda has set the pace. This service is an industry first and a model for regulatory and technological advancement.”
With AI at the heart of this initiative, Airtel Uganda has taken a bold step in safeguarding its users and setting new standards for digital security on the continent.