Wiocc secures R540-million equity investment for expansion

Wiocc Group, the pan-African telecommunications and data centre infrastructure company, has secured a US$30-million (R540-million) equity investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Wiocc, which was one of the original investors in the Eassy submarine broadband cable system along Africa’s east coast, is aggressively deploying fibre and data centre infrastructure across the continent.

The investment in Wiocc builds on the IFC’s previous financing to Wiocc Group, which included a $20-million loan issued in 2020 issued by its fast-track Covid-19 financing facility, which was set up to help sustain economies and preserve jobs during the pandemic.

The IFC was one of Wiocc’s founding lenders in 2007, said Wiocc CEO Chris Wood.

Read: Wiocc sees big opportunity as Equiano, 2Africa cables come online

“This new investment supports our goal of establishing an integrated, open-access, core-to-edge cloud ecosystem throughout the African continent, underpinned by truly scalable, carrier-neutral, open-access, shared infrastructure that delivers high-quality and affordable digital connectivity,” said Wood in a statement about the IFC’s latest investment.

Read: Wiocc raises R3.2-billion as it pursues Africa data centre opportunity

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development finance institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.  — (c) 2022 NewsCentral Media

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