en.Wedoany.com Reported - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on Thursday (July 9) that it has provided a total of €270 million (approximately $308.7 million) in financing to Yas, a pan-African telecom operator. Yas is majority-owned by the AXIAN Telecom Group, and the deal aims to accelerate its investments in mobile networks and fiber optic infrastructure in Senegal and Kenya.
According to a statement released by the EBRD, the financing includes an initial €170 million in committed funding, specifically allocated to Yas's investment plans in Senegal and Kenya. In Senegal, the funds will be used to expand 4G and 5G mobile networks, strengthen existing infrastructure, and accelerate fiber optic deployment. In Kenya, the funds will be used to modernize the fiber optic network of operator Wananchi, which was acquired in 2025.
The bank also plans to provide an additional €100 million financing facility, which can be used by Yas for future acquisitions and new investments in other sub-Saharan African countries where it operates. The EBRD stated that this investment should strengthen competition in the telecom sectors of Senegal and Kenya by supporting the growth of major local operators and improving access to reliable and affordable digital services.
This transaction represents several firsts for the EBRD: it is the bank's first investment in Senegal, its first local currency transaction in sub-Saharan Africa, and the first loan in the region structured under an A/B loan mechanism, designed to attract institutional investors to co-invest with the bank.
This investment comes at a time when Senegal and Kenya are strengthening their digital transformation strategies and seeking to accelerate broadband coverage. In Dakar, the government is relying on the "New Technology Pact" to make digital technology a growth engine by 2034. This strategy has a budget of CFAF 1.105 trillion (approximately $1.9 billion) and aims to increase the digital economy's contribution to GDP to 15%. Currently, the country still has approximately 540 "white zones" (areas with no network coverage), over 700 locations are only served by 2G networks, and nearly 7 million people are affected by the digital divide. Kenya, on the other hand, is considered one of the most advanced digital markets in Africa due to its development of mobile money and digital services. Through its "Digital Highway" plan (with a budget of approximately $600 million), the country plans to deploy over 100,000 km of fiber optic cable, create 25,000 public Wi-Fi access points, and accelerate the digitization of public services.
This financing also reflects the changing financing needs of African telecom operators. Faced with growth in digital usage, data consumption, and mobile financial services, investments in 4G, 5G networks, and fiber optics have become indispensable, but these investments require long-term financing, which is often difficult to obtain in local markets. For Yas, this financing is the largest it has ever received in its group's history. Yas CEO Hassan Jaber stated that nearly one in ten people in Africa still live outside mobile network coverage, and bridging this gap is crucial for Yas's growth and is central to this agreement.
Yas operates in 11 markets across Africa and the Indian Ocean region, with business scope including mobile and fixed services, digital infrastructure (telecom towers, fiber optic networks, and data centers), and digital financial services. This digital financial services segment is increasingly underpinning the investments of African operators.
