Vantage Capital, an African mezzanine debt provider, announced on Tuesday a co-investment with the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) with Surfline Communications, Ghana's leading 4G/LTE network operator.
Speaking on the investment, Gunnar Stork, director of equity & mezzanine for Africa and Latin America, said the investment in Surfline will contribute to improve internet connectivity in Ghana and as such be an important factor to bridge the digital divide.
“DEG is excited to partner with Vantage in the investment in Ghana. In addition we are pleased to continue our partnership with Vantage in general by investing in Fund III, after having already been an investor in Vantage’s first mezzanine fund. We believe in this existing asset class on the African continent and see it as an important instrument to facilitate economic growth in Africa,” said Stork.
The funds committed by DEG to Surfline will be used for the on-going expansion of the company’s 4G/LTE network in Ghana as well as to enhance its product distribution and marketing capabilities.
In a statement Vantage said by deploying the first 4G/LTE mobile network in Ghana, Surfline is able to offer high-speed internet connectivity (up to 10 times faster than the average speeds offered by the existing mobile network operators) at pricing that is competitive with existing internet service providers.
Colin Rezek, managing partner at Vantage said, “We are extremely pleased to receive the strong endorsement of DEG for our third mezzanine fund, which will employ a pan-African investment approach to focus on high-growth markets such as Ghana, Nigeria, the East African Community members and some of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
"We also welcome DEG as a co-investor in Surfline, one of the most exciting deals out of the over 600 investment opportunities we have reviewed in the past five years.”
Meanwhile, earlier this year Surfline announced that it partnered with Chinese telecoms firm, Huawei Technologies, to roll-out the second phase of long term evolution (LTE)/4G in the West African country.
According to Surfline officials the partnership deal was valued between $35 and $40 million.
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