As an anchor investor, EAAIF contributed $40 million to a $160 million collective anchor commitment alongside development finance leaders including IFC, British International Investment (BII), DEG, and Proparco.

The five-year bond saw overwhelming demand, closing with a 2x oversubscription and attracting over $1.3 billion in investor interest—testament to the market’s confidence in Axian Telecom’s vision and Africa’s thriving digital sector.

Backing a Bold Digital Vision for Africa

The new financing will supercharge Axian Telecom’s capital investment across its subsidiaries, supporting mobile broadband expansion, fibre rollout, data centre infrastructure, and subsea cable connectivity. Operating across nine African countries—including Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Uganda, DRC, Comoros, and Togo—Axian now serves more than 40 million customers, with revenues growing 2.5x between 2020 and 2023. Its momentum has earned it a place among the Financial Times’ fastest-growing African companies.

Longstanding Partnership for Impact

This bond builds on a successful partnership. EAAIF also co-anchored Axian Telecom’s debut $420 million bond, which facilitated early-stage expansion in several frontier markets.

EAAIF’s strategic focus on telecom infrastructure, including mobile towers and sustainable data centers—has helped bridge connectivity gaps across underserved communities.

“Connectivity is the currency of the future,” said Tidiane Doucoure, director, Emerging Market Alternative Credit at Ninety One. “This bond is more than financing, it’s a catalyst for financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and regional trade. Africa’s young, digital-native population is ready. Infrastructure must keep up.”

Strengthening Africa’s Debt Capital Markets

Beyond infrastructure, this transaction reinforces Africa’s growing debt capital markets. By enabling telcos to raise long-term capital via bonds, often at more favorable rates than traditional lending, EAAIF is expanding financial tools available to high-growth firms.

To date, the Fund has deployed over $320 million into telecom bonds, catalyzing more than $6.2 billion in total funding.

Hassan Jaber, CEO of Axian Telecom, reflected on the milestone:

“This support from EAAIF and our co-investors affirms the trust in our mission. With this capital, we’ll deepen our impact, scale digital infrastructure, and empower millions across Africa to thrive in a connected future.”

Shaping Africa’s Digital Future

From mobile broadband to climate-aligned data centres, Axian Telecom and EAAIF are laying the digital foundation of tomorrow’s Africa.

With every new tower and fibre mile, they are not just building networks, they are enabling education, innovation, inclusion, and opportunity across a continent on the rise.

Ericsson and AXIAN Telecom have strengthened their partnership at Mobile World Congress 2023, Barcelona, Spain.

The two companies announce a partnership for the modernization of AXIAN Telecom’s operations in Madagascar, Telma Madagascar’s radio access network (RAN), microwave transport infrastructure, and core networks.

Deploying future-proof solutions for 4G and 5G deployment from the Ericsson Radio Access Network (RAN) portfolio will provide faster and more reliable mobile services throughout Madagascar while reducing network energy consumption and enhancing the 5G ecosystem.

The Ericsson Microwave portfolio is a key component in the modernization of Telma Madagascar’s network. With its market-leading microwave family, MINI-LINK 6600, Ericsson will provide a cost-efficient and versatile solution for the mobile transport network.

The modernization also includes the expansion and upgrade of existing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), virtual User Data Consolidation (UDC), virtual charging and virtual mediation.

The two companies also announce the launch of 5G and the modernization and expansion of the existing 4G network across Tanzania through AXIAN Telecom’s operations in the country, Tigo Tanzania.

5G is now launched in Dar Es Salaam, Dodoma, and Zanzibar and will be gradually rolled out across the country at strategic locations.

Ericsson is currently upgrading Tigo Tanzania’s existing 4G network with RAN products and microwave solutions (MINI-LINK 6000).

Leveraging the latest energy-efficient products from the 5G Ericsson Radio System portfolio, Tigo’s network is being expanded and upgraded to increase network capacity, providing the benefits of a fast and reliable connection.

In both Madagascar and Tanzania, AXIAN Telecom continues to roll out its Data4All strategy, providing the best quality network experience for consumers and businesses alike and aiming to reach 100% 4G coverage in those two countries in the near future.

Hassanein Hiridjee, Chairman of AXIAN Telecom says: “Strengthening our partnership with Ericsson is a step further in our commitment to providing top-notch network experiences across our markets. Under our partnership, we will be boosting digitalization across Madagascar and Tanzania, increasing network capacities, and providing enhanced speeds to our customers. We are looking forward to the deployment of more agile networks that will indeed bring about digital inclusion across Africa.”

Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa says: “We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with AXIAN Telecom by deploying latest network solutions jointly with Telma Madagascar and Tigo Tanzania. We are also proud to witness the launch of 5G in Tanzania. Our long-standing partnership will continue to flourish with our commitment to provide scalable and sustainable technologies to AXIAN Telecom to enhance user experiences and boost digitalization in its operating countries.”

The modernization also includes the implementation of the Ericsson Cognitive Software Portfolio while expanding coverage and speed to ensure fast data access across Madagascar and Tanzania.  Ericsson will optimize the networks by applying AI-powered technologies, evaluating future network demands through active monitoring and predictive forecasting, and meeting increasingly critical performance demands while elevating network performance and enhancing user experiences.

In order to stay ahead of rising demand for mobile broadband services, AXIAN Telecom is significantly investing in its network infrastructure aiming to increase access to broadband internet, improve the delivery of connected services and transform the daily lives of the communities it operates in.

The company is a fast-growing provider of telecoms services and infrastructure in Madagascar, Togo, Tanzania, Senegal, Comoros, Mayotte, Reunion and Uganda.

The provision of new financing will allow AXIAN Telecom to expand its footprint through increasing access to affordable mobile and data services by improving digital access and thus pursuing its strategy of inclusion in the telecom value chain for customers, extending access in rural regions and lower-income demographics.

The expansion of AXIAN Telecom into under-serviced markets should disrupt monopolistic pricing policies and dated product offerings and improve vital digital infrastructure such as fibre optic cables, towers and subsea cables.

Richard Palmer, Head of Corporate Debt, at CDC, which will be renamed British International Investment in April, said: “Affordable mobile and data services is a vital component of any economy and investments in under-developed telecom markets is therefore at the core of CDC’s strategy in Africa. Our commitment to this bond financing supports the mobilisation of private capital from institutions that are less familiar with AXIAN Telecom’s markets.”

Hassanein Hiridjee, Chairman and Founder of AXIAN Telecom, said: “This bond financing will greatly support AXIAN Telecom in reaching millions of people whose prospects can be transformed by access to the services that a mobile phone can provide. This will take us through our next growth phase, and we are grateful for the support that CDC and other DFIs have provided in anchoring this transaction.”

You want to know more about CDC?

CDC will formally become British International Investment plc (BII) on 4 April 2022.

British International Investment is the UK Government’s development finance institution and a key part of the government’s wider plans to mobilise up to £8 billion a year of public and private sector investment in international projects by 2025.

BII, under its new five-year strategy will expand its geographical mandate to include South East Asian countries and the Caribbean.

BII will invest between £1.5 and £2 billion per annum between 2022 and 2026 to support the UK government’s Clean Green Initiative and to create productive, sustainable and inclusive economies in Africa, parts of Asia and the Caribbean.

BII is also a founding member of the 2X challenge which has raised $10 billion to empower women’s economic development.   

The company has investments in over 1,000 businesses in emerging economies and total assets of £6.8 billion.

How about AXIAN Telecom?

AXIAN Telecom is a pan-African telecommunications services provider operating in eight markets through its subsidiaries in Tanzania, Madagascar, Togo, Mauritius and Uganda, and joint ventures in Senegal, Réunion-Mayotte, and Comoros.

It operates across three key business segments, providing mobile network services as well as digital infrastructure and mobile financial services.

AXIAN Telecom serves around 33 million mobile customers via its subsidiaries and is a market disruptor, having expanded from being a single market player (Madagascar) until 2015 to eight markets today, through active acquisitions and heavy network investments.