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Africell Dials Up $150M Deal For Expansion In Sub-Saharan Africa

Africell Dials Up $150M Deal For Expansion In Sub-Saharan Africa

Lebanon-owned sub-Saharan Africa telecommunication company, Africell, has signed a $150 million syndicated loan from international lenders including the International Finance Corporation (IFC),  the World Bank’s investment arm.

Africell is a subsidiary of Africell Holding founded in 2000 but began operations in Africa in 2001. It has offices in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, The DRC and Uganda.

The investment was arranged by Deutsche Bank and supported by the Public Investment Corporation on behalf of a host of investors such as Government Employees Pension Fund, Ecobank RDC, Banque Libano Francaise and a number of unnamed funders.

Africell said the investment will be used to upgrade and expand its mobile network in the countries it already operate in and also extend its coverage to other nations on the continent.

“Africell is at the forefront of the mobile expansion in Africa and aims to become one of the leading telecom players in the continent,” Cellular News quoted Ziad Dalloul, Africell’s Chairman and CEO, saying in a statement.

“Our partnership with IFC and other international financing organizations is another milestone in Africell’s endeavor to further its social and development role in the markets it operates.”

IFC, which has injected over $1 billion in 37 mobile phone projects in 15 African countries over the last decade, said it had invested $35 million in the telecoms operator. The international lender see the sector as one of the fast growing investment opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa.

“IFC’s investment in Africell supports a fast-growing company which is committed to providing high quality, affordable mobile services to African consumers,” IFC’s Africa and Latin American Head, Anikó Szigetvári, said.