IFC, Proparco $41m Funding to Strengthen Digital Infrastructure in Nigeria

Nigeria is a major beneficiary of a $41 million funding just announced by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD), to develop data centres in Nigeria and other countries.

The $41 million funding package for infrastructure company WIOCC, will help WIOCC develop its primary and secondary data centres in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.

Additionally, WIOCC plans to continue expanding its terrestrial fibre optic networks.

The financing includes a $10 million loan and another loan of 200 million South African rands ($11million), both provided by the IFC while Proparco is contributing with a $20 million loan.

This new financing is part of WIOCC’s ongoing investment in expanding its digital infrastructure across Africa.

Previously, the company secured $30 million from the IFC in September 2022, among other financings. WIOCC also plans to secure an additional $10 million loan from another bank in the coming weeks.

The WIOCC aims to create an interconnected open-access digital ecosystem to meet the future demands of its customers across the continent.

Through its subsidiary OADC, the company already operates six core data centres and more than 30 edge data centres in South Africa.

It also boasts 200,000 km of submarine fibre systems and 75,000 km of terrestrial fibre.

“Truly neutral and open-access data centres are the cornerstone of a diversified digital ecosystem.

Local data storage and processing capacity are also vital for the resilience of Africa’s digital network, as recent outages have demonstrated,” said Ariane Ducreux, Head of Energy, Digital, and Infrastructure at Proparco.