INFOGRAPHIC: Startup Funding in Africa and the Middle East — Week 43

• Nigerian-founded telecom tower IHS Towers reels $439M loan to refinance debt and support operations
• Kenyan electric bus startup BasiGo acquires $42M to scale public transport
• Pan-African fintech startup Yellow Card closes $33M in Series C funding to drive global expansion   
• UAE’s proptech Prypco receives $10M Seed round to support its growth and expansion
• Saudi Arabian mobility startup Invygo secures $8M Series A extension to pursue profitability
• South African e-commerce logistics startup Pargo banks $4M to expand into Egypt
• Ghanaian AI startup Aya Data gets $900,000 seed round to scale AI products
• Rwandan e-mobility provider IZI raises $222,000 funding to expand fleet in Rwanda

Nigerian-founded telecom tower IHS Towers reels $439M loan to refinance debt and support operations

IHS Towers, Africa’s largest telecom tower company headquartered in London, has secured a total loan of $439 million. This amount is split evenly, with half in South African Rand and the other half in US dollars, totalling $255 million, from an undisclosed source.

Both portions of the loan carry an interest rate of 4.50%. The US dollar component is linked to the three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). At the same time, the South African Rand portion is tied to the three-month Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR).

Since its establishment in 2001 by Sam Darwish, IHS Towers has evolved from a start-up infrastructure company in Nigeria to a leading provider of communications infrastructure in emerging markets with over 40,000 towers across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

With this loan, IHS Towers plans to repay $430 million in debt from October 2022, ahead of its maturity in 2025. This move will also help the company manage currency risks while supporting its operations across multiple regions.