Africa: International Finance Corporation invests $30 million in WIOCC

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced that it has invested $30m in Western Indian Cable Company Holding Ltd. IFC is affiliated with the World Bank. The organization says the fund will help support WIOCC's continued rollout of new subsea cables, terrestrial fiber-optic networks, and the launch of new data centers across Africa. 

The VP of Industries at IFC, Mohamed Gouled, said: "At IFC, we recognize that there is a critical need for reliable digital infrastructure, which is fundamental to improving the quality of people's lives and driving business growth." He continued in his statement by saying: "In the past fiscal year, ending in June 2022, IFC invested $1.3 billion in digital infrastructure, with over half of those investments taking place in Africa's telecommunications, media, and technology sector. Our partnership with WIOCC Group underscores IFC's commitment to closing the digital divide in Africa."

WIOCC was established in 2008. The company launched a pan-African data center network called Open Access Data Centres (OADC) in November 2021 after raising $200m. OADC has been actively developing data centers across the continent since its launch.