- Active
- Exited
Intermediated investment
IHS Zambia Limited is the sole and leading independent tower operator in Zambia – owning and operating over 1,700 telecommunications towers.
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the IHS Towers Group – the largest independent tower operator in Africa – which has a presence in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda and Zambia.
Key facts
- Status:
- Active
- Region
:
Since 2012, we’ve only invested in Africa and South Asia. Investments outside these regions are from our pre-2012 portfolio.
- Africa, East Africa
- Countries:
- Zambia
- Sector
:
We have seven priority sectors. However, we continue to invest outside these sectors, largely in the most challenging regions, as new investment supporting any sector helps to underpin the private sector, and create jobs and livelihoods for people.
- Communications and IT Services
- Website:
- https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/1tgZCRoBMSv2GvKhMhf6p?domain=ihstowers.com
- Investment type
:
We provide capital in three broad ways: direct equity, debt, and intermediated equity (principally through investment funds).
- Intermediated investment
- Fund:
- Investec Africa Credit Opportunities Fund
- Fund Manager:
- Investec Asset Management
- Start date
:
For direct investments, this is the date CDC committed capital to the business or project.
For funds, this is the date that CDC committed capital to the fund.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date that the fund invested capital into the business.e
- December 2014
- Domicile
:
This is the investee company’s place of incorporation; or a fund’s jurisdiction.
- Zambia
Direct Debt
Our investment
In 2015, CDC invested $40 million in IHS Zambia, and a further $26 million in 2017. Our investment will support the development of telecommunications towers across the country to improve accessibility and reliability of coverage.
Expected impact
Telecomms towers in Africa are costly to run, given the need to provide power and security for sites which are spread across large but sometimes thinly populated areas.
Africa's mobile operators are exploring ways to reduce the costs required to maintain and improve their networks at a time when customers expect faster speeds over 3G and 4G services.
With this investment, IHS Zambia (and the wider IHS Group) will continue to invest in upgrading, expanding and maintaining its tower network, including adding 3G and 4G technology to enable faster internet connectivity for business and non-business users.
This investment will accelerate infrastructure sharing among operators and benefit customers in the form of more affordable tariffs and improved network coverage.
It also sends a strong signal to other investors that the country's economic development is moving in a positive direction.
Environmental and social aspects
IHS Zambia is in the process of upgrading its current Environmental and Social Management System.
Over the past few years, the company has significantly reduced diesel consumption and its environmental footprint through the installation of hybrid and solar power systems throughout the country.
Key facts
- Status:
- Active
- Region
:
Since 2012, we’ve only invested in Africa and South Asia. Investments outside these regions are from our pre-2012 portfolio.
- Africa, East Africa
- Countries:
- Zambia
- Sector
:
We have seven priority sectors. However, we continue to invest outside these sectors, largely in the most challenging regions, as new investment supporting any sector helps to underpin the private sector, and create jobs and livelihoods for people.
- Communications and IT Services
- Website:
- https://www.ihstowers.com/group/countries/zambia/
- Investment type
:
We provide capital in three broad ways: direct equity, debt, and intermediated equity (principally through investment funds).
- Direct Debt
- Start date
:
For direct investments, this is the date CDC committed capital to the business or project.
For funds, this is the date that CDC committed capital to the fund.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date that the fund invested capital into the business.e
- October 2015
- Amount
:
For direct investments, this is the total amount that CDC has committed to the business or project (it may be a combination of equity and debt).
For funds, this is the total amount that CDC has committed to the fund.
- $65.52m
- Domicile
:
This is the investee company’s place of incorporation; or a fund’s jurisdiction.
- Zambia
