Axian Telecom Bond

completed

 Axian Telecom (the “Axian” or the “Company”) is a developing operator in the regional (Africa and Indian Ocean) telecoms industry since 2004, with operations in the mobile, broadband (retail, wholesale and submarine cables) and tower infrastructure sharing services. The company has a diversified portfolio of five telecom operators across La Reunion & Mayotte, Comoros, Senegal, Madagascar and Togo, and one telecommunication tower operator company in Madagascar.  Axian is an existing IFC client, with one active investment in Telma Comoros, an Axian operating company (Project #37209). The Environment and Social Review Summary (ESRS) of this investment can be found at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/37209/telco-sa. Telma Comoros’ environmental and social (E&S) performance was found to require improvement and in 2021 the company agreed to adopt and implement an E&S performance improvement program aimed at ensuring compliance with requirements of IFC’s Performance Standards (PS). In 2021, IFC started the due diligence for another investment with an Axian operating company, Togocom in Togo (Project #44666). The relevant ESRS can be found at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/ESRS/44666/axian-togo. The company has designed an expansion plan that includes acquisition of existing operating telecommunication and tower companies in Africa. Most of these expansion projects will be in underserved African markets, primarily in the mobile, infrastructure sharing services and submarine cables. Axian has now invited IFC to act as an anchor investor in a bond for an amount of up to US$ 350-420 million (the “Bond Issuance” or the “Project”). The financing will be used to (i) fund a mobile network operator (MNO) acquisition in Tanzania, including refinancing its debt, and (ii) refinance a loan in Togo.