The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement Group, have teamed up to support the West Indian Ocean Cable Company's (WIOCC) expansion in three African nations, aimed at bolstering the continent's digital infrastructure and connectivity.
This collaboration aims to secure over $50 million in funding, with $41.7 million already raised. IFC has contributed $10 million and ZAR 200 million ($11.07 million), while Proparco has added $20 million. Additionally, WIOCC is expected to finalize a $10 million loan with RMB Corvest, a private equity firm, for its expansion in Nigeria within the next few weeks, according to a statement shared with Bendada.com.
The funding is arranged as sustainability-linked debt, with interest rates tied to WIOCC's efforts to enhance energy efficiency and achieve EDGE green building certification for their facilities. EDGE, an IFC innovation, certifies that data centers are resource-efficient and carbon-neutral.
WIOCC plans to utilize the funds to expand its core and edge data centers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and South Africa. The initiative aims to enhance data center services and extend fiber networks, helping to bridge the digital divide and promote economic growth across Africa.
"We are excited to conclude this next stage of our capital raise, which will enable significant expansion, adding further capacity to our open-access data center operation and extending open-access hyper scale national, international, and metro connectivity across our key markets in Nigeria, southern Africa, the DRC, and Greater East and Central Africa," said Chris Wood, CEO of WIOCC Group.
Since its establishment in 2007, WIOCC has consistently invested in Africa's digital sector, providing open-access infrastructure to meet the rising demand for reliable connectivity solutions across the continent.
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