Octotel, a fiber network operator in the Western Cape region of South Africa and a portfolio company of Actis, has received a social loan from Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) to help expand the company’s network to 500,000 homes.
Octotel’s fiber network currently provides fiber-optic broadband to 300,000 homes in South Africa with around 100,000 customers connected. The new £100 million ($118 million) facility will help Octotel double the size of its network throughout the next three- to-five years, and it is expected to help Octotel expand its fiber network to reach areas that currently have no access to it.
RMB worked with Octotel to structure the loan as a social loan, which is designed to finance projects and activities that address social issues.
“We have built a considerable congruent fiber network in the Western Cape, and this facility will enable Octotel to meet our growth ambitions in the near term,” said Trevor van Zyl, CEO of Octotel. “Today, acce
