Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund backs data centre company
The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) has committed a $33 million sustainability-linked debt facility to Raxio Group, a pan-African data centre developer and operator. The funding enables the design, construction, operation and management of data centres in seven countries across sub-Saharan Africa.
EAIF is acting as co-arranger on the transaction alongside Proparco, with which it will mobilise a $110 million debt package to Raxio to further develop digital infrastructure.
The new data centres in Uganda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania will be some of the first-ever independent, enterprise-standard data centres in these countries.
Commenting on the announcement, Sumit Kanodia, investment director at Ninety One, the fund manager of the EAIF said, ”Data centres in Africa enable the growth of the continent’s digital economy and unlock innovation for digitally native communities and businesses, providing more affordable access to transformative technologies and services. Our partnership with Raxio signifies a joint ambition to narrow the digital divide in several high-potential economies by filling a vital funding gap.”
Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Data Centres said, ”This is a momentous milestone for Raxio, and we are very excited to have found in Proparco and EAIF the ideal long term partners, with common objectives and values. This substantial additional funding package is a resounding endorsement of what we have achieved so far and the soundness of our expansion strategy, and clearly positions Raxio as a leader in delivering world-class data centre infrastructure to markets across Africa. Raxio is committed to building a digital Africa, and this financing gives us the runway we need to continue executing our strategy.”