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Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
TELECOMMUNICATIONS infrastructure company, Liquid Telecom, says it has secured about $150 million for the expansion of its fibre optic network throughout Africa.

The funding was secured through a loan facilitated by Standard Chartered Bank and provided for by large global investment banks.

“The Liquid Telecom Group has raised $150 million, which will fund the further expansion of its fibre network in Africa,” said the company.

The new investment, it said, would be used to extend its fibre network into additional countries as part of the continuous expansion strategy.

“It ($150 million) will also finance ongoing Fibre To The Home (FTTH) builds in Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which will provide homes and businesses with unlimited data packages and 100Mbps, the fastest broadband ever available in Africa,” it said.

The company’s chief executive officer Nic Rudnick was quoted as saying:

“We believe in the power of connectivity to transform lives and our goal is to connect as many people in Africa as possible.

“Our fibre networks provide capacity for high-speed fixed and mobile broadband networks, enabling Africans to access digital content, apps and OTT services. This funding will help us in our mission of building Africa’s digital future.”

Presently, Liquid Telecom has a fibre optic network spanning over 18,000 kilometres and passes through 15 countries in East and Central Africa covering the continent’s fast-growing economies where no fixed network has existed before and connecting to under-sea cable.

The telecommunications infrastructure firm provides services to wholesale carriers, mobile network operators, financial institutions and business of different sizes and homes.

In Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya, the company operates retail businesses. Liquid Telecom is a member of the Econet Wireless Global group of companies.

The firm was started by Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa in 1997 as a satellite communications provider and operates out of Mauritius, London and Johannesburg, and has offices in more than 15 African countries.