{"id":152921,"date":"2025-11-11T20:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya"},"modified":"2025-11-11T20:44:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:44:02","slug":"madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya","title":{"rendered":"Madagascar firm acquires Zuku operations in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>AXIAN Group CEO Hassan Jaber and AXIAN telecom Fibre CEO Bertrand Lacroix during the announcement of the deal<\/p>\n

Madagascar-based Axian Telecom has taken over local operator of fixed-broadband and pay-TV service provider Wananchi Group\u2014the parent company of the Zuku brand.<\/p>\n

The acquisition of a 99.63 per cent stake in Wananchi, marks Axians entry into Kenya\u2019s fixed-connectivity infrastructure market, giving the pan-African telecoms and fintech firm a footprint into East Africa\u2019s most advanced digital economy.<\/p>\n

Last month International Finance Corporation (IFC) revealed that it is among a group of debt investors that will fund Axian Telecom’s acquisition of Kenya’s Wananchi Group.<\/p>\n

The acquisition comes after nearly 18 months of negotiations and regulatory approvals, culminating in a final green light from the COMESA Competition Commission in December 2024.<\/p>\n

Though the company did not disclose the transaction’s value, the deal is backed by major international financing, including a $550 million (Sh71 billion) bond issuance from the IFC, with up to $75 million (Sh9.6 billion) dedicated to it.<\/p>\n

AXIAN Telecom Fibre CEO Bertrand Lacroix, said the acquisition will necessitate new investments in the country ahead of a review on whether they will rebrand from the Zuku brand<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important is to keep rolling out new fibre coverage, wherever it is needed, so in order to do that, we have very strong people in terms of geo-marketing, they know where our connection services will be the most needed,\u201d said Lacroix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to bringing high-speed Internet to millions more Africans. Our strong performance so far, doubling of our fixed broadband base and achieving double-digit revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the deal, Wananchi will be integrated into a newly formed Axian subsidiary Axian Telecom Fiber \u2014 which will house all the group\u2019s fixed connectivity operations.<\/p>\n

Group CEO Hassan Jaber said the move was driven by the need to \u201caccelerate the digital connectivity of homes and businesses\u201d and to establish a strong presence in Kenya<\/p>\n

\u201cThis transaction allows us to hit two birds with one stone, entering the fixed broadband business and expanding into Kenya, the most advanced digital economy in Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The firm already operates in Tanzania, Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal and Togo. The integration of Wananchi will leverage its operational scale, investment capacity, and cross-market expertise.<\/p>\n

Axian says the acquisition fills a clear gap in its business model: while it already operates mobile and fintech services across East and West Africa, Wananchi adds the \u201cfixed business\u201d component and gives it a meaningful footprint in Kenya. In its own words, the need for \u201chomes and business\u201d fibre connectivity is central to the continent\u2019s digital acceleration.<\/p>\n

Kenya stands out as a priority market because of its relatively advanced digital economy and the sophistication of its consumer base \u2014 factors that Wananchi\u2019s local presence enables Axian to leverage.<\/p>\n

Zuku, which has long struggled with customer complaints over service interruptions and slow speeds, is expected to benefit from fresh capital injections to improve network reliability and expand coverage.<\/p>\n

Wananchi executives confirmed that the acquisition would address long-standing challenges around limited capital expenditure, which has constrained the company\u2019s ability to expand beyond its current six-county footprint in Kenya.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, one of the biggest limitations for any business like ours has been access to capex. This partnership brings the financial muscle needed to grow and improve service quality,\u201d said Wananchi Group\u2019s management.<\/p>\n

They added that the company\u2019s operational team will remain intact and work closely with Axian during the integration period, with no immediate job losses expected.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Kenya. AXIAN Group CEO Hassan Jaber and AXIAN telecom Fibre CEO Bertrand Lacroix during the announcement of the deal Madagascar-based Axian Telecom has taken over local operator of fixed-broadband and pay-TV service provider Wananchi Group\u2014the parent company of the Zuku brand. The acquisition of a 99.63 per cent stake in Wananchi, marks Axians […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":152920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[544],"class_list":["post-152921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nMadagascar firm acquires Zuku operations in Kenya - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"AXIAN Group CEO Hassan Jaber and AXIAN telecom Fibre CEO Bertrand Lacroix during the announcement of the deal Madagasca ...\" \/>\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\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Madagascar firm acquires Zuku operations in Kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AXIAN Group CEO Hassan Jaber and AXIAN telecom Fibre CEO Bertrand Lacroix during the announcement of the deal Madagasca ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T20:05:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T20:44:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2025\/11\/sm_1762881114.289591.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"407\" \/>\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\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Madagascar firm acquires Zuku operations in Kenya\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-11T20:05:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-11T20:44:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya\"},\"wordCount\":602,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2025\/11\/sm_1762881114.289591.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Kenya\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/madagascar-firm-acquires-zuku-operations-in-kenya\",\"name\":\"Madagascar firm acquires Zuku operations in Kenya - 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