The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) is making a US$43 million loan available to Helios Towers Africa’s (HTA) subsidiary in Congo Republic. HTA is one of the leaders in telecommunications infrastructure provision on the continent. It is the fourth time that EAIF has been involved with an HTA expansion project and is the Fund’s first investment in the Republic.

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund was a co-lender in the transaction to HTA with UBA, BNP Paribas, FMO and DEG.

HTA acquired c. 400 telecommunications towers in the Republic from Airtel in 2015. All of the towers are to be refurbished, power supply technology upgraded and visual improvements made. Depending on customer demand, the funding package could see a significant number of new towers built in the country, further enabling the population to communicate using voice and data technologies. HTA operates towers in a number of African Countries. It estimates that satisfying the demand for telecommunications services in Africa will require an additional 100,000 cell sites over the next five years.

David White, chairman of EAIF, says: 

“Modernising and expanding HTA’s tower infrastructures in the Republic of Congo is as important to economic development today as railway building was 100 years ago. More reliable and more sophisticated digital communications are essential to enterprise, job creation and growth. The contribution to this expansion by HTA is entirely in line with our remit to work with energetic private sector businesses. Every transaction of this kind improves the potential for lasting economic stability and poverty reduction.

I am delighted that for the first time we have made an investment in the Republic of Congo and look forward to more projects there in future.”

Kash Pandya, Chief Executive Officer at HTA, commented:

“HTA is delighted that the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund is again helping us grow. EAIF’s involvement is very welcome and we value its commitment to stronger African economies and its professionalism.”HTA operates a tower sharing strategy that allows multiple users to lease capacity. The strategy reduces total costs incurred by service providers in building and maintaining their own towers and allows them to focus on customer service and developing new products.”

The Congo Republic market has potential for substantial growth. The markets for mobile internet and advanced data services are in their early stages. Upgrading the towers will improve network performance and facilitate the rollout of advanced technologies, giving operators stable platforms to introduce new services. Fixed line telephone availability and service quality often falls off sharply outside Africa’s big urban centres. HTA is facilitating the expansion of mobile coverage into rural areas. Growing the stock of phone masts and extending into rural economies opens up opportunities in agriculture, education, health care and tourism. Widening customer bases in rural areas is quicker and cheaper when leasing access to shared towers. Processing plants and other facilities that must have reliable, efficient and competitive telecommunications can for the first time consider a rural location.

The incentive for operators to share towers is also being driven by growing competition between providers. Competition is widening consumer choice and putting downward pressure on prices. It is also thinning profit margins and focussing management efforts on winning customers and tightening cost control. Consequently, tower sharing is growing in popularity.