Proparco is supporting the development of WIOCC and the digital revolution in Africa

West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) is a pan-African telecommunications infrastructure company. WIOCC has been offering connectivity solutions to players in information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Africa for over a decade. It thereby plays a key role in the growth of the digital sector.

Through a USD 60m loan, Proparco will be supporting WIOCC’s expansion plan in Eastern and Southern Africa. This plan involves investments in digital infrastructure on the continent, including in certain least developed countries in Africa. Proparco has also mobilized funds for PIDG Group’s Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), which has contributed an additional USD 40m to this operation.

It is AFD Group’s second partnership with WIOCC after an initial loan allocated by AFD in 2007 to support EASSy, a 10,000-km undersea cable system linking the Red Sea to South Africa, which has improved Internet access across East and Southern Africa.

This new operation demonstrates AFD Group’s long-term support to the African telecommunications sector. Proparco and AFD are both committed to supporting innovation, in particular in frontier countries to ensure that the digital transition is both inclusive and equitable.

This project is expected to support over 200 direct jobs over the next 5 years. WIOCC also plans to develop vocational IT training for women, in order to further facilitate gender-balance in its workforce.

It will also directly contribute to Sustainable Development Goals 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure).