Paratus Group has secured N$587 million in funding to create additional fiber routes connecting Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia over the next three years.
The funding was secured from the global asset manager Ninety One, which in turn raised capital from two of its funds – Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and Ninety One Africa Credit Opportunities, a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and fund manager.
“Building world-class digital infrastructure and facilitating fiber expansion is critical to unlocking the potential across Africa. The collaboration of Ninety One’s Africa Credit Opportunities and EAIF is a progressive partnership designed to deliver high-impact infrastructure projects, and this funding will contribute to meeting the growing demand for connectivity and data in Africa,” Investment Specialist at Ninety One, Sine Zulu said.
Chastin Bassingthwaighte, Corporate Finance Associate at Cirrus Capital, which facilitated the transaction, said sourcing for funding that was best suited for Paratus Group was extensive, but Ninety One was chosen as the best fit for the company.
“Through this process, we negotiated and completed this capital raising with Ninety-One, in part through their Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund. While numerous competitive proposals were received, the Ninety-One offering stood out in terms of suitability for Paratus Group’s specific requirements,” Bassingthwaighte said.
Paratus Group Chief Executive Officer, Schalk Erasmus, said the investment is a significant sign of Paratus Group’s intent to greatly enhance cross-border fiber connectivity and facilitate economic development in the region.
“It is good news for African businesses, entrepreneurs, and consumers throughout the continent. It is also a great leap forward on our journey and mission to transform Africa through exceptional digital infrastructure and customer service,” Erasmus said.
He added that the investment serves not only to boost connectivity but also to contribute to the group’s goal of doubling revenue within the next five years.
“It will also be used to finance the completion of Paratus’ first Tier IV data center (DC) in Angola. The state-of-the-art 10MW facility will be the largest Paratus DC in Angola. It is designed to stimulate the digital economy, capitalize on the opportunities created by subsea cable systems in the region, and consolidate the Group’s strategy to create a regional hub in Angola. The facility will be Paratus’s fifth carrier-neutral DC in southern Africa and complements two other Tier-III (by design) DCs in Luanda, Angola,” Erasmus said.
Meanwhile, Paratus Namibia announced the planned rollout of 28 retail stores, of which 9 resellers and 6 pop-up shops have already been opened in a bid to expand its retail footprint.
“Expanding our retail network is important for many reasons. Following our recent and aggressive national rollout project, we have now extended our services over our proprietary last-mile infrastructure to a total of 28 towns across Namibia. These additional stores will leverage our investment and reach our customers in these areas directly. We plan, in the future, to continue expanding our national footprint while ensuring our network always delivers a quality service,” Paratus Namibia MD, Andrew Hall, said.
Paratus is a telecommunications company with operations in Angola, Botswana, DRC, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia – and the business’s extended network provides a satellite connectivity-focused service in more than 35 African countries.
