Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund commits $30m to telecom tower company

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) has committed $30 million to Eastcastle, a platform company that owns, operates, and develops shared telecom tower infrastructure in countries across Africa. The investment enables the purchase and development of telecom towers across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the country’s mobile network operators.

Building on Eastcastle’s plan to expand its tower company business in the DRC, and Nigeria – EAIF has participated in the International Finance Corporation (IFC) loan programme as an IFC B Lender. IFC and The Standard Bank of South Africa acted as co-lead arrangers.

Commenting on the transaction, Esther Chan, investment director at Ninety One, the fund manager of the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund said, “With Eastcastle’s experience and expertise rooted in developing mobile connectivity in nascent markets, we are excited to witness the evolution of the tower sector and support an ambitious young population who will achieve given access to more opportunities. Backing this long-term vision emphasises the importance of a proactive and positive approach to laying the foundation for rapid expansion in high-potential markets such as the DRC.”