African data centre operator Liquid Intelligent Technologies and French telecommunications giant Orange have formed a partnership aimed at improved connectivity.
Owned by Zimbabwean telecommunications billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, one of Africa’s richest men, Liquid will gain access to Orange’s West African infrastructure, especially Djoliba, a network of terrestrial and submarine fibre optic cables, launched in late 2020. Orange will gain access to Liquid’s 100,000 kilometres of cables across Africa.
“We've long been committed to providing digital services that allow our customers to grow their businesses and the larger African economy. Partnering with a provider like Orange strengthens this offering,” said David Eurin, chief executive of Liquid’s international wholesale business, known as Liquid Sea, in a statement. He added that customers would benefit from “working with two carriers with proven track records of building African business and digital technology”.
Orange International Carriers chief executive Emmanuel Rochas said the partnership “further demonstrates Orange’s commitment across Africa to deliver highly reliable connectivity to its customers” and the company’s “unique expertise in cybersecurity”.
Both companies hope the partnership will allow them increased connectivity speed and services, as well as improved security. “The cybersecurity threat landscape has grown substantially in the last year, which is true globally, and the African continent is no exception,” said Rochas, promoting the cybersecurity benefits of the Djoliba network.
Liquid partnered with Facebook earlier this year to develop a fibre network in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Orange operates in Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Senegal, where superfast broadband network Djoliba is operated from.
Liquid’s One Africa network is widespread across Sub-Saharan Africa, with further plans for expansion into North Africa, specifically Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria.
“We already have access to Egypt and Morocco, but now we want to close the loop, thus ensuring that the entire continent has access to high-speed fibre connectivity,” Eurin added.
In October 2020, Liquid received a USD 40 million investment from CDC Group, taking the total investment from the United Kingdom development finance institution to USD 220 million.
In February this year, International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, invested in bonds issued to raise funds for the expansion of Liquid’s services.
In 2018, Orange invested in a South African fintech company, while last year it opened a new regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa, based in Morocco.
Source: https://iclg.com/alb/17343-liquid-and-orange-form-telecoms-alliance