Biggest African data-center firm raises US$170 million for new hub

Teraco Data Environments Ltd., Africa’s largest data-center company, raised 2.5 billion rand (US$170 million) to fund the construction of a new facility in South Africa.

The loan financing was led by Johannesburg-based lender Absa Group Ltd., and will help Teraco construct a seventh site in Africa’s most industrialized nation, according to Chief Financial Officer Samuel Erwin.

“We do see continued growth in South Africa and this will form a big part of our focus for the next two to three years,” said Erwin, who joined the company last year from Barclays Africa. “We are focused on growth, which is always capital intensive, and that means we will always be capital hungry.”

Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. have all started providing cloud services in South Africa in recent years, with demand set to rise as telecom companies including Vodacom Group Ltd., and MTN Group Ltd. start to roll out 5G networks.

The country’s regulator is also due to auction new broadband spectrum in March, though the process is subject to legal challenges.