NuRAN Wireless, a leading rural telecommunications company that meets the growing demand for wireless network coverage in remote and rural regions around the globe, has announced the execution of a two-year term loan facility agreement relating to its businesses in Cameroon and DRC.
The principal amount involved is US$5 million. The loan is with the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), a fund managed by Cygnum Capital, an investment bank and asset manager, operating across frontier and emerging markets.
FEI is designed to support small-scale independent power producers delivering power to the grid, mini-grids, and commercial and industrial and captive power projects. FEI was set up by the African Development Bank as part of its New Deal for Africa initiative.
The loan facility, confirmed in a press release late last week, was entered into by NuRAN Africa, a wholly owned subsidiary of NuRAN Wireless, for the purpose of financing the construction of renewable energy assets for mobile network infrastructure and accelerating the build of network as a service (NaaS) sites, primarily in Cameroon and DRC.
The funding will help NuRAN to deploy more than 500 new sites. Combined with cash generated from operating sites, the company intends to use the proceeds to cover all material and construction costs of new sites.
NuRAN says this marks a significant milestone in its financing strategy for its NaaS operations and is the result of extensive efforts by both FEI’s and NuRAN’s teams in completing the final due diligence and debt structuring.
Francis Letourneau, CEO of NuRAN Wireless says: “This facility will enable us to execute our construction plan for 2024 and achieve major milestones by the end of the calendar year.”
Carmen de Castro, Managing Director and Fund Lead at Cygnum Capita adds: “Providing this facility to NuRAN Africa marks another noteworthy achievement for the Fund’s leading role to support the energy transition in the telecommunication industry in Africa where renewable energy is critical to bring fundamental services to underserved populations.”
She continues: “The combination of innovative financing and world-class technical expertise will fast-track the expansion of mobile networks to rural areas in Africa.”
