Cassava Tech Secures $90M Equity Investment

Cassava Technologies, a leading provider of digital infrastructure and services in Africa, has secured a $90 million equity investment. The funding round included contributions from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (FinnFund), and Google.

According to the company, this investment is aimed at bolstering Cassava’s balance sheet and driving sustainable and profitable growth. It forms part of a larger $310 million package, which also encompasses the successful completion of the company’s South African Rand (ZAR) debt financing and a legal reorganisation to establish an integrated digital solutions platform.

This platform delivers a comprehensive range of services, including broadband connectivity, data centre co-location, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and payment services. Cassava Technologies operates across over 30 markets in Africa, the Middle East, India, and Latin America.

The company has also developed a strong portfolio of business units, such as Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, Liquid C2, Cassava.ai, and Sasai Fintech, all of which are leaders in their respective sectors.

In addition, Cassava Technologies highlighted that Liquid Intelligent Technologies has successfully secured new multi-tenor facilities to refinance its South African Rand term loan. These facilities, amounting to $220 million in South African Rands, are being provided by Standard Bank of South Africa, Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank of South Africa, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Cassava Group CEO and President Hardy Pemhiwa described the equity round closure, ZAR debt financing, and reorganisation as transformative achievements.

He stated, “This is a pivotal milestone in which we expect to unlock immense value and catalyse the further expansion of Cassava’s digital infrastructure and services to bridge the digital divide in the continent. We are excited to announce these significant achievements, which collectively strengthen our financial position and are a powerful testament to the vision of our founder and Group Chairman, Strive Masiyiwa, and the dedication and commitment of our teams across the Group.”