Liquid Term Loan 2 (IFC-50085)

Countries
  • South Africa
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
Approved
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
Nov 26, 2024
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
Liquid Telecom South Africa
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 Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 58.17 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.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 220.00 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 May 27, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Apr 23, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

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.

According to the Bank’s website, the Project aims to support Liquid Telecom Holding Limited at raising US$220 million in ZAR equivalent to be borrowed by their South African subsidiary Liquid Telecom South Africa (“LTSA”). IFC is providing up to ZAR 1,029 million as part of the Company's effort to strengthen its balance sheet structure. This will include the refinancing of Liquid’s existing ZAR debt and drawn portion of the US$ revolving credit facility, extending tenors and moving away from a single maturity, as well as potentially repurchasing a portion of its bond. The Project is taking place in a context where Liquid is undergoing a capital rebalancing exercise. Liquid is a strong Telco partner in South Africa and across the African continent. Since its establishment in 2004, Liquid has anchored the development of the broadband market in Africa with its presence across the region. The Project will help ensure the continuity of Liquid’s endeavor to bridge the connectivity gap in Africa and enhance the resilience of the fixed broadband market in its countries.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

This is a Category B project as per IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Based on IFC’s review, the project is expected to have limited adverse environmental or social risks and/or impacts that are few in number, generally site-specific, largely reversible, and readily addressed through established mitigation measures.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The total Term Loan amount is up to $220 million ZAR equivalent. The proposed IFC investment is for an up to ZAR 1,029 million investment in the Term Loan, for IFC's own account.

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board: Loan 58.17 million (USD)

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Liquid is the leading pan-African provider of wholesale voice, wholesale data, and internet protocol (IP) services, and an existing IFC client, and provides internet services across the African continent.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Liquid Telecom South Africa Client -
- - - - Liquid Telecommunications Holdings Limited Parent Company -

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.

Liquid Telecommunications Holdings Limited
Lorraine Harper
Chief Financial Officer
Email lorraine.harper@liquid.tech
lorraine.harper@liquid.tech
Liquid Telecom, 6 New Street Square, London, EC4A 3BF
www.liquidtelecom.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

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