WIOCC Group, Africa’s leading carrier-neutral digital infrastructure platform, has signed a shareholder subscription agreement (SSA) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Vision International Investment Company (Vision Invest), through which the two investors will make a combined $300 million investment in the company.

Signed at the LEAP 2026 Global Technology exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the agreement represents a significant milestone in WIOCC Group’s growth journey, supporting its mission to build and operate open-access, critical infrastructure across Africa and strengthen the digital ecosystems that underpin Africa’s economic transformation.

The investment comes at a pivotal moment for Africa’s digital development as demand for data, cloud services and artificial intelligence continues to grow.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only 35.7 per cent of Africa’s population was using the Internet in 2025, compared with a global average of 73.6 per cent, highlighting the scale of the continent’s digital infrastructure needs and growth potential.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projects the global AI market will reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, while warning that access to AI capabilities and digital infrastructure remains concentrated in a limited number of countries and companies. These trends underscore the importance of investing in resilient, high-capacity infrastructure that can expand digital access, support cross-border data flows and help narrow the digital divide.

Operating in more than 30 African countries, WIOCC Group is a key enabler for further expansion, having established one of the continent’s most extensive, open-access digital infrastructure platforms that support its clients in accessing new markets and delivering reliable digital services at scale. Open Access Data Centre in Nigeria is a member of the WIOCC Group.

Since its establishment, WIOCC Group has been supported by a group of African telecommunications operators and strategic investors, alongside leading international development and investment institutions, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and African Capital Alliance (ACA). Its shareholders include Uganda Telecom, Dalkom Somalia, Djibouti Telecom, Mozambique Telecom (TMCEL), Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel), Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet), Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA), ONATEL, TelOne and Telkom Kenya.

The backing of these leading investors and operators has been instrumental in WIOCC’s growth into one of Africa’s most extensive and trusted digital infrastructure platforms, delivering connectivity services across the continent and contributing to the continued growth of Africa’s digital economy.

Commenting on the investment, President and Chief Executive Officer of AFC, Samaila Zubairu, said: “The Africa we build must be connected, competitive and equipped to create value from the digital economy, not only consume it. Just as transport corridors enable trade and energy networks, the power industry, fibre, data centres and subsea cables are now essential infrastructure for growth, innovation and AI.

Our investment in WIOCC will expand the open-access digital backbone African businesses and communities need to integrate, innovate and compete globally.”