ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe has secured a US$60 million loan from Swedish export credit agency EKN, the largest ever facility that a European bank has approved for a Zimbabwean company in over a decade.
The funds would be deployed to strengthen the companys network in Harare, home to its largest customer base. Econet is the largest telecommunications company in Zimbabwe by subscriber numbers, and is currently expanding its network capacity around the country, including its 3G service.
The CEO of Econet, Douglas Mboweni, was naturally excited about the loan, and hailed the opening up of credit for Zimbabwean companies. He thanked the Swedish government for their support. He also thanked giant Swedish equipment supplier Ericsson and Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa, who had made a personal guarantee for all shareholders.
Until now, the company had only been able to secure loans from China and the Egyptian-based African Export-Import Bank.
Mboweni said the entire facility would be applied to buying equipment for Harare. Our customers in Harare are increasingly buying phones, which require more capacity and capability on the network, he said, adding that engineers from Ericsson had already arrived to install the equipment.
Post published in: Economy