Wholesale fiber network firm West Indian Ocean Cable Co. (WIOCC) has raised $200 million, made up of both debt and equity, to launch a new pan-African data center network, Open Access Data Centres (OADC), to help expand its connectivity within Africa and internationally.
WIOCC’s networks will be extended to include new countries and metropolitan areas, increasing its portfolio of end-to-end solutions for clients across Africa.
Part of the capital raised will be used in funding OADC, which is creating a transformational, interconnected pan-African network of open-access, carrier-neutral data centers.
First-phase locations will house key submarine cable landings in Lagos, Nigeria; Durban, South Africa; and Mogadishu, Somalia; supporting the drive to land international submarine capacity directly into carrier-neutral data centers.
Construction in Lagos and Durban is underway and will be launched early in 2022, while the Mogadishu date center is scheduled t