PCM Capital Partners has announced a EUR5mn equity investment by its maiden fund the West Africa Emerging Markets Growth Fund (WAEMGF) in Surfline Communications Limited (Surfline). Surfline is the leading provider of 4G LTE data and other related services to households, SMEs and corporate institutions in Ghana.
Incorporated in 2011, Surfline was one of four Ghanaian-owned companies to be issued a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) license by the National Communication Authority in 2013 but the first to commence commercial rollout in 2014. The current operations cover the metropolitan areas of Accra and Tema, and Sekondi-Takoradi. Surfline presently has approximately 75,000 subscribers and has plans to expand the network to metropolitan Kumasi and other regional capitals later this year.
The fund’s investment comes at a time when the affordability of data-enabled devices coupled with increasing social media engagement is driving demand for data services. With a first mover advantage in Ghana, Surfline is expected to significantly improve wireless broadband access and particularly mobile connectivity to corporates, SMEs and households. Commenting on the investment, Mawuli Ababio, Director at PCM Capital Partners, said “we see this investment as a strategic play and are pleased to invest alongside a substantial local investor.”
Commenting on the deal John Taylor, Founder and Executive Chairman of Surfline indicated that “the injection has come at a good time when Surfline is embarking on an expansion rollout to other regional capitals to ensure Ghanaians enjoy reliable 4G LTE data services.”
The transaction is the WAEMGF’s 7th investment in the sub-region. Other investments so far have been in downstream oil and gas, agri-business, financial services, hospitality and pharmaceuticals.
WAEMGF is a regional private equity fund backed by the South Africa Government Employees Pension Fund through the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the Ivorian private sector employees’ pension fund (CNPS) and a select group of regional financial institutions.
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