Global connectivity provider Angola Cables is reportedly planning to expand into Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to cash in on Africa's growing appetite for digital infrastructure – provided regulators make it easier to roll out that infrastructure.
According to ITWeb Africa, Sudhir Juggernath – the CEO of Angola Cables subsidiary TelCables Southern and East Africa – said that Angola Cables will go the partnership route to enter those markets, rather than via acquisitions.
"We want to enter into untapped markets in terms of growth and digital productivity,” he told told ITWeb Africa at last week’s Africa Tech Festival 2024 event. “We want to empower [Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe] with our internet connectivity."
Juggernath said Angola Cables is keen to expand as various African markets look to accelerate their digital economies and bridge their respective digital divides, which will require dependable and scalable digital infrastructure to support them, the report said.
However, Juggernath observed, that will also require regulators to streamline infrastructure deployments, the report added.
“Regulators need to make it easier for carriers and ISPs to deploy fibre faster or connectivity to the unconnected. It’s about making it easier to lay fibre, making it easier to run fibre through a town,” he said. “Make it easy to put up Wi-Fi terminals or put up towers.”