Pan-African data centre developer Raxio Data Centres has secured a debt facility of up to $170m (€155m) from lenders including the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) and development finance institution Proparco to help expand across the continent.
The data centre company’s shareholders Meridiam and Roha said the sustainability-linked debt facility – which has been secured in multiple tranches – includes $110m from Proparco and EAIF.
Private Infrastructure Development Group-owned EAIF said it committed $33m to Raxio, which currently has assets in Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola and Tanzania.
Raxio said the new funding will be used to accelerate the firm’s growth in African markets and to support the construction and expansion of existing and new facilities in the region.
Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Data Centres, said: “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.”
Ariane Ducreux, head of energy digital and infrastructure at Proparco, said: “We believe digital infrastructure can contribute to the reinforcement of social ties and reducing socio-economic inequalities. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa where the lack of neutral and shared data centres undermines the potential of the local digital services markets.
“Therefore, we are proud to support Raxio’s first development phase of seven carrier-neutral data centres across Africa, together with long-standing partners like EAIF, Meridiam and Roha.
“With this sustainability-linked loan to Raxio, we also aim at fostering data centres with exemplary environmental sobriety and security levels.”
Sumit Kanodia, investment director at Ninety One, EAIF’s fund manager, 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 responds to the urgent demand for affordable internet connectivity in the region and signifies a joint ambition to narrow the digital divide in several high-potential economies by filling a vital funding gap.”
Brooks Washington, a partner at Roha, said: “We launched Raxio in 2018 because we saw the significant potential for data centres across Africa. We’re looking forward to Raxio continuing its strong momentum and we are excited to build an African data centre champion.”
Mathieu Peller, a partner at infrastructure fund manager Meridiam, said: “The need for this type of data centre in these countries is clear and Meridiam is proud to be supporting Africa’s digital buildout through Raxio and are excited for what’s to come.”
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