{"id":38999,"date":"2023-11-21T18:40:13","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T18:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=38999"},"modified":"2023-11-21T18:11:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T18:11:43","slug":"africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment","title":{"rendered":"Africa to get digitally connected through CSquared investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>CSquared announced that it has raised an additional US$25 million in new equity from new and existing shareholders to continue building carrier neutral, open access broadband networks to digitally connect Africa.<\/b><\/p>\n

Contributors to the funds were CPDIF, IFC \u2013 International Finance Corporation and the International Development Association\u2019s (IDA) Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.<\/p>\n

This is the first tranche in a broader US$65 million investment programme to finance CSquared\u2019s expansion and growth. Additionally, CPDIF has simultaneously acquired the stake in CSquared held by Google LLC.<\/p>\n

The new investment into the company will be used for network expansion as CSquared continues to drive digital infrastructure developments across its footprint and the broader African region.<\/p>\n

The well-established developmental impact of such investments is a cornerstone of CSquared\u2019s vision and that of its shareholders. Such vision is to facilitate job creation, innovation, entrepreneurship and other developmental objectives which are enhanced by the uptake of internet access and digitalisation of the economy.<\/p>\n

CSquared was launched as a project within Google in 2011 with the ambition of building metropolitan fiber optic networks in Sub-Saharan Africa as a carrier neutral operator of shared infrastructure. The long-term vision for the Company is to increase Internet penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa and to reduce Internet access costs by investing in infrastructure necessary to drive digital transformation in the region.<\/p>\n

In October 2017, in order to accelerate the scope and scale of the business, additional investors namely, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Convergence Partners Communication Infrastructure Fund and IFC came onboard to deepen existing market penetration and expand geographically as the partners looked to commercialize the Company. Under the guidance of its shareholders, the Company has successfully established operations in six markets across the continent, namely Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo.<\/p>\n

In addition, CSquared\u2019s collaboration with Google in Togo was critical to delivering the first continental landing of the Equiano cable in Africa in March 2022, significantly transforming the affordability and availability of internet access in this previously under-served market.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the transactions, Lanre Kolade, CSquared Group Chief Executive Officer, shared that he remains enthusiastic about the company\u2019s future and its role in directly tackling the continent\u2019s digital transformation challenge \u2013 he states \u201cCSquared has demonstrated a proven track record in developing and commercialising carrier-neutral, open-access networks across Africa.<\/p>\n

We remain singularly focused on changing lives through the digitalisation of the region and providing #InternetForAll. The support from our investors, both existing and new, will transform our ability to deliver on this ambition. This involves expanding the digital broadband infrastructure footprint in all our current markets \u2013 Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, DRC & Togo, as well as expanding into new markets in the near future. Now, more than ever, the future is here #ADigitallyConnectedAfrica\u201d.<\/p>\n

Andile Ngcaba, Chairman and Founding Partner of Convergence Partners, added \u201cThe opportunity to increase our investment in CSquared via our most recently raised fund comes at a pivotal time for African digital development. The benefits of world-class connectivity span all layers of society and have never been more tangible. As investors in the Company since 2017 we have had a front-row view of the tremendous impact of open-access networks on the development of the African ICT ecosystem. The combination of developmental impact, as well as strong commercial returns makes this an attractive investment for CPDIF and we are delighted to be able to shape the next phase of this journey\u201d.<\/p>\n

Commenting on its investment in CSquared, Sarvesh Suri, IFC\u2019s Regional Industry Director for Infrastructure, Africa, said \u201cBroadband connectivity is critical for Africa\u2019s development. Our investment in CSquared is aligned with our regional strategy to develop digital infrastructure and promote the digital economy which can help leapfrog development for many African countries, support economic growth and stimulate job creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

FTI Capital Advisors DIFC Limited (\u201cFTICA\u201d) acted as financial advisor to CSquared on the capital raise and concurrent sale of the stake in CSquared held by Google LLC.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. CSquared announced that it has raised an additional US$25 million in new equity from new and existing shareholders to continue building carrier neutral, open access broadband networks to digitally connect Africa. Contributors to the funds were CPDIF, IFC \u2013 International Finance Corporation and the International Development Association\u2019s (IDA) Private Sector Window Blended […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":38998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-38999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nAfrica to get digitally connected through CSquared investment - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CSquared announced that it has raised an additional US$25 million in new equity from new and existing shareholders to ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Africa to get digitally connected through CSquared investment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CSquared announced that it has raised an additional US$25 million in new equity from new and existing shareholders to ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-21T18:40:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/11\/sm_1700577558.325148.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Africa to get digitally connected through CSquared investment\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-21T18:40:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment\"},\"wordCount\":677,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/11\/sm_1700577558.325148.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/africa-to-get-digitally-connected-through-csquared-investment\",\"name\":\"Africa to get digitally connected through CSquared investment - 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