Cassava Technologies has announces three milestones: a substantial equity injection; the successful completion of its South African rand debt refinancing; and the finalisation of its legal reorganisation.
Cassava has closed an equity investment round of $90-million with participation from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), and Google. This funding is a key part of Cassava’s plan to strengthen its balance sheet, drive sustainable profitable growth, and cement its position as a global technology company of African heritage.
The conclusion of this equity round coincides with the successful reorganisation of Cassava’s business to create an integrated digital solutions platform. This platform provides broadband connectivity, co-location (data centres), cloud, cybersecurity, compute (AI), and payment services across more than 30 markets in Africa, the Middle East, India, and Latin America.
Additionally, Liquid Intelligent Technologies has successfully signed new facilities to refinance its South African rand term loan on a multi-tenor basis. The new facilities, equivalent to $220-million in South African rands, are being provided by Standard Bank of South Africa, Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank of South Africa, and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Hardy Pemhiwa, president and group CEO of Cassava, comments. “The closing of this equity round, completion of our ZAR debt refinancing, and reorganization represent more than just capital – it’s a pivotal milestone that we expect to unlock immense value and catalyse the further expansion of our digital infrastructure and services to bridge the digital divide on the continent.”
With the addition of DFC, Google and Finnfund, Cassava’s roster of shareholders includes Econet Group, British International Investment (BII), Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), Africa-Export Import Bank (Afreximbank/FEDA), and Gateway Capital.