Link Africa (IFC-37790)

Countries
  • Ghana
  • Uganda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Mar 9, 2017
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
CSQUARED LINK HOLDINGS (MAURITIUS) LIMITED
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Communications
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 15.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Sep 23, 2017

Disclosed by Bank Jun 7, 2017


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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.
The project is for a new company, CSquared Link Holdings (Mauritius) Limited (“CSquared” or the “Company”), to be formed as a partnership between IFC, Google Inc., Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Convergence Partners Communication Infrastructure Fund (each, an “Investor”) to build metro fiber networks in Sub Saharan Africa (“SSA”) (the “Project”) to create shared infrastructure for broadband operators. Google will contribute seven companies to the Company in in exchange for cash and equity in the Company: CSquared Ghana, CSquared Uganda, CSquared (Uganda) Holdings, CSquared DRC, RDC Connect, Moja Access (Kenya), and CSquared Liberia, two of which have been actively operating on the ground in Africa – CSquared Ghana and CSquared Uganda have implemented fiber-optic network projects in Kampala and Entebbe in Uganda with 800 total kilometers of underground fiber, and in Accra, Ghana with 840 total kilometers of underground fiber. CSquared will utilize lessons of experience from those existing operations, and will establish new subsidiaries in each new country to which it expands. The Project will initially involve the development of the existing operations in Uganda and Ghana with the goal of expanding into new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. During this initial phase, IFC will provide an initial equity investment of US$15 million. CSquared will then serve as a platform to expand into new markets with additional investments in the Sub-Saharan Africa region in the future. Additional markets in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to be determined based on further review and approval by the Partners. Warehouse services will be provided by third parties; equipment will be located with other companies’ equipment in leased spaces; office spaces will be leased.
Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Bhavesh Mistry Google Kenya Ltd. 7th Floor, Purshottam Place Westlands Road, P.O. Box 66217 - 00800 Westlands Nairobi, Kenya Email: bhaveshm@google.com Mobile: +254 733738131 / Office: +1 415-736-6002 ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

How it works

How it works