Telecom and Tech Companies in Africa are Reaching New Milestones

From capitalizing on renewed international investor interest to pour money into infrastructure development, to financing the roll-out of data centers, propel fiber connectivity to new areas, and deploy new mobile networks in key markets. Pan-African fibre internet and cloud computing company, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, cross-regional mobile operator Africell, and mobile operator Safaricom are the most notable African tech and telecom operators that have recently secured international financing rounds. Kenya’s Safaricom, backed by a $500 million investment from the United States’ Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and is fronting a consortium that will build a new mobile network in Ethiopia, the most populous country in east Africa. US-owned Africell, which has 12 million mobile subscribers in countries such as Gambia, Uganda, DRC and Sierra Leone, this week secured a $105 million loan facility from a group of financiers led by Gemcorp, it said in a statement. Part of this capital is expected to be used to build its new mobile network in Angola, a key African market that is keen to build up its fintech sector. The loan facility gives the company “flexibility to achieve our commercial objectives in Africa,” said Africell chief executive officer, Ziad Dalloul.

SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA