WIOCC Group secures additional $65 million, marking its third raise in 2025

WIOCC Group, Africa’s leading open-access digital infrastructure provider, has secured an additional $65 million in debt financing, bringing its total fundraising activity in 2025 to three rounds.

The latest facility was arranged by a consortium of development finance institutions and investors, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco, Emerging Africa Infrastructure and Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), and Ninety-One. The sustainability-linked debt will support WIOCC Group’s ongoing expansion of connectivity capacity and digital infrastructure across Africa.

The raise follows two earlier transactions this year: a $129 million partnership with Laser Light, and a $240 million investment plan through its subsidiary, Open Access Data Centres (OADC), aimed at expanding its Lagos data centre to a 24-megawatt capacity by 2027.

According to WIOCC Group CFO Samuel Ndungu, the additional capital will be used to scale network infrastructure, extend the company’s data centre footprint, and strengthen the resilience and capacity of its pan-African digital ecosystem.

IFC’s Regional Industry Director for Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Africa, Sarvesh Suri, said the financing was structured across USD and ZAR  to help WIOCC optimise its capital structure, mitigate currency risk, and accelerate investment in resilient, open-access digital networks.

Founded in 2008, WIOCC Group is jointly owned by a consortium of African telecom operators, the IFC, and African Capital Alliance. The company operates an extensive network spanning more than 75,000 kilometres of terrestrial fibre and over 200,000 kilometres of submarine fibre-optic cable, connecting more than 550 locations across 30 African countries.

WIOCC is also a key investor and partner in several major subsea cable systems linking Africa to global internet infrastructure, including EASSy, WACS, Equiano where it is a fibre-pair investor and landing partner in Lagos and 2Africa, the world’s longest subsea cable system.

Since inception, WIOCC Group has deployed over $750 million in digital infrastructure, positioning itself as a critical enabler of Africa’s evolving digital economy.