Liquid Telecom has been granted final regulatory approval to become the majority stakeholder of Raha, Tanzania’s leading Internet Service Provider.
Raha today serves over 1500 businesses as well as a growing number of retail customers with a range of connectivity solutions, including fibre, satellite, WiMAX, and WiFi. The acquisition provides Liquid Telecom’s enterprise and wholesale customers with direct and faster access to Tanzania and to Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
Tanzania will become the latest market to be added to Liquid Telecom’s fibre network, which is the largest of its kind serving eastern, central and southern Africa, spanning over 40,000km across 12 countries.
The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) approved the agreement on December 8, 2016.
“We are very pleased to announce that this transaction has received its final approval. The agreement enables Liquid Telecom to expand its footprint into Tanzania, a growing and dynamic African country,” said Nic Rudnick, CEO, Liquid Telecom.
“We are thrilled with this approval and look forward to being part of a pan-African connectivity movement,” said Aashiq Shariff, CEO, Raha.
Raha operates a metro network throughout the Central Business District (CBD) of Dar es Salaam as well as other areas of the Tanzania capital. It also operates WiMax and WiFi hotspots in over 150 locations across the country, including the cities of Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Mbeya and Tanga.
Internet penetration in Tanzania has increased rapidly in recent years, reaching 34% in 2015. Mobile subscriptions increased by more than 24% in 2015 to 39.8 million, while the number of internet users rose 52% year-on-year to reach 17.26 million last year, according to TRCA.
