Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) and Vumatel are now running under a new parent company, Maziv.
Pieter Uys, chairman of holding company Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), says both operating companies have demonstrated impressive growth, with DFA increasing revenue 4,1% to R2,5-billion. This was largely by increasing annuity income to R198-million per month as of 31 March 2022, from R192-million per month in the previous year.
“Subscriber growth was the main driver behind Vumatel’s substantial 26,3% revenue increase, to R3-billion,” Uys says.
Dietlof Mare, now CEO of both Vumatel and Maziv, says the parent company name is taken from the Greek ‘mazí, which translates to ‘together’.
“The strategic direction of Maziv, and its leading fibre market assets, Vumatel and DFA, will see the future path of the business continue to grow in its South African network coverage, and as a leader in the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), fibre-to-the-business (FTTB) and fibre-to-the-tower (FTTT) sectors.
“As the fibre market evolves and becomes a critical part of our country’s infrastructure, so do the exponential growth opportunities for Maziv and its subsidiaries. While Vumatel and DFA continue to operate as separate entities, the intentional formation of this parent company was a strategic move to streamline operations and consolidate infrastructure assets seamlessly, under one aligned strategy,” Mare adds.
Organisational and structural changes have seen the two brands collaborating much more closely. “Under the umbrella of Maziv, the DFA and Vumatel brands will grow from strength to strength in this highly competitive marketplace, offering unique and unsurpassed capabilities,” Mare says.
“Since its inception in 2014, Vumatel has passed over 1,6-million South African homes, and connected over 600 schools across our communities with free, 1Gbps uncapped fibre – supporting hundreds of thousands of learners and educators.”
Meanwhile, DFA continues to build on its current 13 800km of fibre assets.