Paradigm Completes Acquisition Of IHS Rwanda

Newly established sub-Saharan African towers platform, Paradigm Tower Ventures, has made its maiden investment by closing the acquisition of HIS Rwanda Limited from IHS Holding Limited. Paradigm is backed by a consortium of investors including Convergence Partners, British International Investment, and Proparco.

Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, acted as mandated lead arranger, sole funder and financial advisor to Paradigm Tower Ventures.

Announced in May 2025, the transaction transfers ownership of approximately 1,467 tower sites across Rwanda to Paradigm, establishing the platform as Rwanda’s leading independent tower operators. The tower sites support the networks that enable 5.3 million Rwandans to access mobile money and other digital services.

The acquisition will enable better connectivity and lower cost of cellular services to mobile users in Rwanda and beyond. Research shows a 10 percent increase in mobile penetration leads to increase of 2.5 percent in GDP per capita in African geographies.

Rwanda offers a stable operating environment, clear policy direction and sustained demand growth for connectivity. Its long-term digital vision has positioned the country as an attractive base for scalable infrastructure platforms. Paradigm’s entry reflects the consortium’s confidence in Rwanda’s growth trajectory and its commitment to enabling efficient, future ready digital networks.

On top of this initial seed investment, Paradigm aims to build, invest in and operate more high-quality, carrier neutral tower assets. This enables mobile operators to expand coverage and accelerate digital inclusion beyond Rwanda and across the Continent.

Stephen Harris, co-founder and chairman of Paradigm, expressed his delight on the expansion saying that the Rwandan market is where Paradigm can bring its expertise in the operation and construction of shared digital infrastructure to assist in meeting the growing demand for digital based services.

“Our focus is to improve existing infrastructure to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, alongside facilitating the improvement of mobile network coverage and connectivity,” Harris said.

On his part, Andile Ngcaba, Founder and Chairman of Convergence Partners, said that the investment represents the kind of opportunity where shared conviction, capable partners and sound fundamentals come together to create lasting value across the Continent.

“We are proud to be investing alongside some of our own investors and a deeply experienced team at Paradigm that has built and operated leading tower platforms across Africa. As this platform grows, we see it serving as a critical enabler supporting the expansion of data, cloud and emerging AI-driven services that will define the next decade of infrastructure investment across the Continent,” Ngcaba said.