Kenya-based pay-TV group Wananchi has secured US$130m in financing to fund its growth and expansion in East and Southern Africa.
The capital investment was co-led by existing Wananchi shareholders including Altice, Liberty Global, Emerging Capital…
Kenya-based pay-TV group Wananchi has secured US$130m in financing to fund its growth and expansion in East and Southern Africa.
The capital investment was co-led by existing Wananchi shareholders including Altice, Liberty Global, Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) and ATMT along with new investor Helios Investment Partners, according to a company statement.
Richard Bell, vice chairman of Wananchi, said the financing will help the company to continue to roll out fibre-to-the-home networks in more East African cities and extend its business service networks and product offerings across multiple geographies and market segments.
“With our stronger balance sheet, we will also invest in exciting new technologies and service platforms to improve the quality of our products and deliver a superior experience for our customers,” said Bell.
Dennis Aluanga, a partner at Helios, commented: “We believe this capital injection will enable the Wananchi Group to extend the coverage of its infrastructure as well as build upon its strong broadband-led triple-play product offering, including direct-to-home satellite products to many more tens of thousands of customers across the greater East Africa region and beyond.”
Richard Essex, a partner at shareholder East Africa Capital Partners, added: “We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the US-government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation who has committed significant capital to support the ongoing growth of the business since Wananchi was established.”
Wananchi offers DTH pay-TV, fibre broadband and telephone services to private customers under the Zuku brand and corporate services under the SimbaNet, Wananchi Telekom and iSat brands.
