CSquared, a Pan-African technology company making commercially driven investments into broadband-enabling infrastructure throughout Africa, has raised $25 million in new equity funding.
The new funding was raised from Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the International Development Association (IDA). The company also announced that Google has exited its CSquared stakes which has simultaneously been acquired by the CPDIF.
The recent 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.
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Speaking on the funding, CSquared Group Chief Executive Officer, Lanre Kolade, said that he remains enthusiastic about the company’s future and its role in directly tackling the continent’s digital transformation challenges.
In his words,
“CSquared has demonstrated a proven track record in developing and commercializing carrier-neutral, open-access networks across Africa. We remain singularly focused on changing lives through the digitization of the region and providing InternetForAll”.
He added that the funding from investors will spur the company to deliver on its ambition to expand its digital broadband infrastructure footprint in all of its current markets which include Kenya, Liberia, Uganda, Ghana, DRC, and Togo, as well as expand into new markets in the future.
Also speaking on the funding, the chairman and founding partner of Convergence Partners, Andile Ngcaba said,
“The opportunity to increase our investment in Squared 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”.
CSquared was launched as a project within Google in 2011 to build metropolitan fiber optic networks in Sub-Saharan Africa as a carrier-neutral operator of shared infrastructure. The company is making commercially driven investments into broadband-enabling infrastructure throughout Africa.
CSquared enables MNOs and ISPs to provide high-quality broadband at lower costs through shared infrastructure such as metro fiber and Wi-Fi networks. The company’s shared infrastructure model means it works alongside its partners, building networks they can leverage to provide better services to end-users.
The pan-African company disclosed that it has observed how connecting metros in Africa to existing long-distance fiber lines has helped to provide these cities with a foundation for growth and help more people get online, noting that it is excited to accelerate this growth in the rest of Africa.
Since its customers demand for more intensive bandwidth, CSquared seeks to offer matured fiber networks to enable the revolution of consumer needs with the deployment of various access points e.g. FTTT, FTTB, FTTH e.t.c
Notably, it has over 50 Customers using its infrastructure: MNOs, ISPs, and 4G/LTE operators, and 2700+ Customer sites connected on its fiber: base stations, enterprises, SMEs, homes, etc.