In a statement published on its website, Helios Towers Africa (HTA) said its DRC unit, Helios Towers RDC (HT RDC), got a US$105 million syndicated loan. Main initial arranger for this loan is Standard Bank South Africa and German development as co-arranger.

The loan will be used by HT RDC to partially finance acquisition of 950 telecom towers from Indian group Bharti Airtel, its organic growth and operational excellence program across the country. Through this, HT RDC will thus own 1800 towers in the DR Congo. This will boost its presence and allows it to provide its services to many telecom operators at the same time. Part of the fund will finally be invested by HT RDC in energy technology in order to reduce dependency on diesel.

According to Kash Pandya, CEO HTA, completing funding program in DRC is a “key milestone for HTA in the expansion of its business in DRC and reinforce our network coverage for all our clients. DRC is strong growing market for HTA ». With a projected 17 million subscribers by 2020, Kash Pandya said it is impatient to help its clients face this boom by providing the necessary telecom infrastructures.