CSquared has announced the appointment of Lanre Kolade as its CEO, effective immediately.
Kolade joins CSquared from Vodacom, where he spent 10 years in various executive roles, including MD of the West, East, Central Africa & South East Africa Regions as well as leading Vodacom Business in Nigeria. He has 21 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, spanning both francophone and anglophone Africa.
“I am honored to have been chosen to lead CSquared in its next phase of growth. I firmly believe that the company is uniquely positioned to help drive infrastructure development and connectivity on the continent; enhancing local economies and job creation especially amongst Africa’s youth,” says Kolade.
CSquared started as a project within Google to build and operate open-access broadband infrastructure in Africa, increasing access to reliable and affordable internet on the continent. In 2017, Google entered into a joint venture agreement to bring onboard three new shareholders, with deep experience in the ICT space in Africa: investment firm, Convergence Partners, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Japanese based, Mitsui & Co. To date, cumulative capital commitments for expansion stand at $100-million.
CSquared currently operates fibre infrastructure in six cities across Uganda, Ghana, and Liberia, with over 40 mobile operators and internet service providers relying on its infrastructure for serving mobile consumers and corporate customers.