Liquid Telecom, a Pan-African telecoms group owned Econet Wireless has reached an agreement with CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, to invest $180m with the company.
This investment will enable Liquid Telecom to expand its high-speed broadband connectivity to some of the most underserved communities across the African continent, including supporting Africa’s thriving tech start-up ecosystem with high-speed internet and cloud-based services.
Owned and managed by the UK Government, CDC Group supports companies that help poor countries grow. Being aligned to a common purpose, the $180m investment will enable Liquid Telecom to increase its network expansion. This builds on the Liquid Telecom’s award-winning Cape to Cairo terrestrial fibre link - often referred to as “the One Africa” broadband network that took ten years to complete and serves some of the most remote locations with the fastest network speeds in Africa - from Cape Town, through all the Southern, Central, and Eastern African countries, and has now reached Sudan and Egypt. The network passes through some of the most remote corners of the planet and continues to provide new opportunities to connect underserved communities.
Nic Rudnick, Group CEO, Liquid Telecom
Our vision is to give every individual on the African continent the right to be connected by bringing reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity and cloud services to all. This includes businesses and communities in some of the most remote parts of the continent.
Nick O'Donohoe, CEO, CDC Group
CDC’s capital will enable Liquid Telecom to reach more countries in the continent, helping to connect millions more people and businesses. Africans have benefited hugely from the local mobile phone industry that CDC backed twenty years ago and we have similar hopes for our investments in Africa’s growing digital infrastructure.
