African fibre company, Liquid Telecom, won a $180 million investment from British development finance agency CDC Group to expand its high-speed broadband connectivity to some of the most underserved communities across the African continent.
This includes supporting Africa’s thriving tech start-up ecosystem with high-speed internet and cloud-based services.
Liquid Telecom is headed by an exiled Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa based in South Africa.
The CDC Group, owned and managed by the United Kingdom government supports companies that help empower and grow developing nations. The investment will enable Liquid Telecom to increase its network expansion.
This builds on Liquid Telecom’s award-winning Cape to Cairo terrestrial fibre link, often referred to as “the One Africa” broadband network that took 10 years to complete and serves some of the most remote locations with the fastest network speeds in Africa.
“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,” said Nic Rudnick, Group CEO, Liquid Telecom in a statement released Tuesday.
“We welcome CDC Group’s investment of $180m with Liquid Telecom since it will enable us to accelerate expansion along our award-winning Cape-to-Cairo route and further into Central and Western Africa. Once completed, it will bring significant economic and social benefits – from providing access to online educational resources to supporting national economies, creating more jobs and driving the adoption of new technologies. This is aligned to the vision of our executive chairman, Strive Masiyiwa, to not only connect Africa from north to south, but also from east to west.”
According to Rudnick digital infrastructure was still a major problem for African governments, people and businesses. He said access to affordable and quality internet was central to Africa’s development and economic growth.
– African News Agency (ANA)
