• The International Finance Corporation and Rand Merchant Bank will invest R450 million each into Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
• The investment will be used to improve access to broadband in the Eastern Cape.
• So far, Liquid Intelligent Technologies has invested R400 million into extending its operations in the Eastern Cape.

This week has been an especially busy one for firms under the Cassava Technologies banner including Liquid Dataport and Liquid C2. Today, it was the turn of Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid) to make a massive announcement.

The telecommunications firm announced that it would receive R450 million in funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and another R450 million from Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). This R900 million investment will be used to provide affordable broadband access in the Eastern Cape Fibre Project. This project hopes to increase access to connectivity for businesses and other organisations in the province.

Data from the 2022 Census revealed that 65.7 percent of households in the Eastern Cape had access to the internet compared to the national average of 78.9 percent. While connectivity in the province is lower than the national average, this situation has improved drastically since 2011.

“The support and investment we have received from IFC and RMB underscores our collective commitment to advancing South Africa’s broadband connectivity and uplifting the communities in which we do business. Not only will this investment from RMB and IFC help fund the expansion of our fibre backbone network in the Eastern Cape, but also help us upskill more South Africans and create employment. We believe this collaboration sets a new benchmark for the financing and development of digital infrastructure in South Africa,” group chief executive officer at Liquid, Hardy Pemhiwa said in a statement.

So far, Liquid has invested R400 million into extending its operations in the Eastern Cape. That includes connecting 1 300 government buildings and creating 600 jobs. An additional R900 million investment, or even part thereof, will go a long way to bridging the digital divide and creating jobs.

“RMB is proud to have been the co-arranger and funder for the Eastern Cape Fibre Project to help enable access to information communication technology for communities in the province. All people should have access to the power of the digital world to better their lives. We believe in partnering with our clients who are vested in digital inclusion to narrow the digital divide and counteract the negative social consequences of digital exclusion. We look forward to working on similar transactions across the continent,” head of the Corporate Client Group at RMB, Nana Phiri said of the investment.

We look forward to seeing how Liquid uses these funds in the short and long-term.