The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a private infrastructure development group, and its fund manager, Ninety One, have committed a US$31-million (R573-million) debt facility to Paratus Group to finance the expansion of its fibre and data centre business over the next three years.

It means last-mile connectivity and more reliable internet services will be introduced across three sub-regions and six countries in Africa: Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.

The expansion of Paratus’s fibre business will include three new fibre routes connecting Walvis Bay-Johannesburg-Maputo, Brazzaville-Johannesburg-Maputo and Luanda-Lusaka-Dar Es Salaam, adding to a fibre network of over 10 000km.

EAIF’s investment will also help finance the construction of Angola’s first tier-4 data centre, Paratus’s fifth carrier neutral data centre in Southern Africa, adding to its two tier-3 data centres in the Angolan capital, Luanda. The 10MW facility will position Paratus’s network in Angola as a regional hub and capture opportunities created by the Equiano subsea internet cable, connecting Europe to Africa’s west coast.

Read: Paratus links Mozambique and South Africa with fibre

Paratus CEO Schalk Erasmus said: “Widening access to fibre and data centres in key African markets will progress development and inclusive growth – maximising opportunities in countries where entrepreneurial spirit abounds. EAIF and Ninety One’s commitment sends the right signal to the rest of the market and reinforces our mission to support a more connected and technologically advanced Africa.” — © 2023 NewsCentral Media