INVESTMENT WATCH- Liquid Telecom to invest in Egypt data centers: African communications company Liquid Telecom is looking to grow its data center arm in Egypt as part of a continent-wide expansion plan, the company said in a statement picked up by Bloomberg. The company, Africa’s largest high-speed internet provider, has raised USD 307 mn through a rights issue, which included an extra USD 40 mn from the UK government’s development arm CDC Group. The company did not disclose how much of the funding would be earmarked for Egypt, but said it was part of a group of four countries that would receive investment.

This comes almost two years after the company announced a three-year USD 400 mn investment plan to develop its data center infrastructure in Egypt. Working with state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt, the company said it would spend USD 50 mn on data centers and cloud services before putting the remaining USD 350 mn into “broadband and financial inclusion initiatives.”

Egypt is at the center of the company’s plans to connect east and west Africa: The CEO of parent company Econet Global said in 2018 that it was looking to link Cairo to Senegalese capital Dakar via cables running through Sudan, Chad and Nigeria. The South Africa-based firm, which has laid more than 70k km of fiber cables across the continent, said it aimed to link the two capitals during Egypt’s term heading the African Union, which finished in February this year. The company has not provided updates on how the project is progressing.