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London-headquartered Cassava Technologies was launched in 2021 by Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, who amassed his wealth as a global telecom and tech entrepreneur and investor. Masiyiwa, said to be Zimbabwe’s wealthiest person, also founded Econet Group in 1998 to expand mobile access in Africa.
With Cassava Technologies, the longtime entrepreneur aims “to spark new opportunities, transform lives, and create truly inclusive prosperity across Africa, and the world,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. Through its five subsidiaries, Cassava provides broadband connectivity, renewable energy, co-located data centers and digital payment services to companies and “hyperscalers” in more than 30 African countries.
Digital upgrade
“Africa is in the middle of a digital revolution. Internet usage is growing fast, and it is important that the digital infrastructure is able to meet the growing demand,” said Niklas Simola of Finnfund, which led the equity injection with Google and the US International Development Finance Corp.
Google has been investing in power providers to supply clean energy for its multiplying data centers (see, “TPG Rise and Google plug $800 million into Intersect Power for green data centers”). Google has committed $1 billion to Africa’s digital transformation and last year opened its first cloud computing center on the continent.
Other Cassava backers include British International Investment, International Finance Corp. and the Fund for Export Development in Africa. Previous investors in Cassava include Royal Bafokeng Holdings, Public Investment Corp., British International Investment, International Finance Corp. and Fund for Export Development in Africa.
Debt refinancing
In a separate deal, Cassava’s Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which provides telecommunications services in 13 African countries, secured 220 million South African rand (about $12 million) to refinance existing debt. The new debt facility, backed by the International Finance Corp., Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank of South Africa, will strengthen the company’s financial position, Cassava’s Hardy Pemhiwa said.
Other Cassava businesses include Africa Data Centers, which manages more than 150 data facilities in Africa, and Sasai Fintech, which provides digital financial services to mobile consumers on the continent.
