Washington Invests $155 Million in WIOCC for African Networks

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved an equity investment of up to $155 million in WIOCC, a digital infrastructure operator based in Johannesburg and active in around thirty African countries, on Wednesday, September 16.

The DFC describes this operation as the largest equity investment in its history. It will be conducted alongside Vision International Investment Company and Africa Finance Corporation. WIOCC operates submarine cables, terrestrial fiber optic networks, and more than 40 primary and edge data centers across the continent.

The U.S. agency states that the funds are intended to strengthen open, resilient, and accessible digital infrastructure at a time when the growth of cloud services, data services, and artificial intelligence is increasing capacity demands. WIOCC provides wholesale connectivity services, metropolitan fiber, and data center services.

Washington also aligns this investment with its strategy to support U.S. technology companies looking to expand in Africa. Reuters notes that the United States has recently increased funding in African telecommunications, including a loan of nearly $100 million to the operator Africell.

On September 3, WIOCC announced a $300 million agreement with Africa Finance Corporation and Vision Invest to enhance its data center capabilities, expand terrestrial fiber networks into new markets, and develop certain submarine assets.