What WIOCC does

WIOCC Group (legal entity West Indian Ocean Cable Company Holding Ltd, headquartered in Ebène, Mauritius) is a wholesale-only digital infrastructure provider — "Africa's Carriers' Carrier" — founded in 2008. It builds and operates an integrated stack spanning submarine cable systems (fibre-pair ownership on 2Africa, Equiano, EASSy, WACS, EIG, SMW5 and TE North), terrestrial fibre networks across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, DRC, Zambia and the wider East/Central Africa region, metro fibre in cities such as Nairobi, Lagos, Mombasa and Durban, and a growing network of carrier-neutral, open-access data centres through its OADC subsidiary (30+ facilities, including core sites at cable landing points in Nigeria, DRC and South Africa).

Revenue is generated through wholesale capacity sales on owned subsea and terrestrial fibre assets, IP transit, colocation at OADC facilities, and managed network services through the OATS sub-brand. All contracts are quote-based and negotiated directly with enterprise and hyperscale clients, sold as long-term recurring agreements with usage-based and on-demand scalability. GTM is exclusively enterprise direct sales — no retail or consumer channels — targeting hyperscalers, cloud operators, content providers, fixed and mobile telcos, ISPs and financial-services firms needing pan-African, low-latency connectivity.

Operationally WIOCC manages the full connectivity chain from international subsea bandwidth to national backhaul to metro delivery via its own subsidiary stack (OADC, OAFabric, OATS, Open Access Metro Services), which removes multi-vendor handoffs for clients. The company has raised cumulative disclosed capital of roughly $370M+ including a $20M IFC loan (2020), $80M equity round led by CAPE IV (2021), $200M debt+equity for OADC (2021), $30M IFC equity (2022) and a $41M round from Microsoft and Proparco (2024), with employees numbering in the 251-500 range.

Name

WIOCC

Legal name

West Indian Ocean Cable Company Holding Ltd

Website

https://wiocc.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

WIOCC is a Mauritius-headquartered, wholesale-only digital infrastructure provider operating submarine cable fibre pairs, terrestrial fibre networks, and a network of carrier-neutral data centres across Africa, serving hyperscalers, cloud operators, content providers, MNOs and ISPs with integrated open-access connectivity services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Telecommunications Infrastructure

NAICS

Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171), Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111)

akta.pro primary industry

Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subsea Capacity Wholesale (IRUs, leased capacity, backhaul to landing stations) (HDAIAEAI), Open-Access Fiber Network Operators (Wholesale-Only) (HDAIACAF), Network Operations Outsourcing (NOC Services) (BPAEAMAD)

Keywords

• Wholesale connectivity services
• Subsea cable infrastructure
• Terrestrial fibre networks
• Carrier-neutral colocation
• Wholesale IP transit

Headquarters

HQ city

Ebène

HQ country

Mauritius

HQ region

Africa

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Connectivity Capacity: WIOCC generates revenue primarily through providing wholesale capacity on its subsea cable systems and terrestrial fibre networks to hyperscalers, cloud operators, content providers, telcos and ISPs. Capacity is sold as long-term contracts with usage-based and on-demand scalability options.
2. Colocation Services: Wholesale colocation delivered through OADC data centre facilities at cable landing sites across Africa, providing hyperscale open-access connectivity to clients.
3. IP Transit: Extensive and resilient IP network services offering clients greater control, customisation, security, reliability, scalability, performance, cost savings and privacy compared to third-party network providers.
4. Technical Services (OATS): Holistic managed network and infrastructure services for Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), carriers and hyperscalers, leveraging existing licensed entities and assets across Africa.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WIOCC is Africa's leading wholesale-only, open-access, carrier-neutral digital infrastructure provider. It sells wholesale capacity on its portfolio of submarine cable systems (including fibre pair ownership on 2Africa, Equiano, EASSy, WACS, EIG, SMW5, TE North), terrestrial fibre networks across multiple African countries, metro fibre connectivity, carrier-neutral data centre colocation through OADC facilities, wholesale IP transit, and managed technical services (OATS), exclusively to carriers, hyperscalers, cloud operators, content providers and ISPs.

Product overview

WIOCC is a wholesale-only digital infrastructure provider offering an integrated platform of connectivity services across Africa. The core offering combines Global Connectivity (terrestrial and subsea networks), IP Transit, Metro Connect, Colocation, and Technical Services (OATS). The portfolio is anchored by strategic investments in major submarine cable systems including 2Africa, Equiano, WACS, and EASSy, complemented by extensive terrestrial fibre networks across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, DRC, Zambia and East/Central Africa. Through subsidiary Open Access Data Centres (OADC), WIOCC provides carrier-neutral colocation and data centre services with facilities serving as landing points for submarine cables. The company operates exclusively as a wholesaler, serving hyperscalers, cloud operators, content providers, telcos, and ISPs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Open Access Data Centres (OADC): Carrier-neutral, open-access hyperscale data centre infrastructure across Africa, including core and edge data centres in Nigeria, DRC, and South Africa, and cable landing point facilities.
• Open Access Fabric (OAFabric)
• Open Access Technical Services (OATS)
• Open Access Metro Services

Products and services

• Global Connectivity Premium wholesale connectivity solutions comprising metro, national and international terrestrial networks integrated with subsea networks, enabling clients to leverage WIOCC's assets for scalable, resilient connectivity including access to difficult-to-reach countries. Target buyers are wholesale carriers, hyperscalers, cloud operators, content providers and ISPs.
• IP Transit Extensive and resilient wholesale IP network offering clients greater control, customisation, security, reliability, scalability, performance, cost savings and privacy compared to third-party network providers. Target buyers are carriers, ISPs and other wholesale network operators across Africa.
• Metro Connect Metro-level fibre connectivity delivering high-speed connections into data centres and internet exchange points in key African cities including Nairobi, Mombasa, Lagos, and Durban. Target buyers are carriers, ISPs and content providers needing last-mile metro connectivity.
• Colocation Wholesale hyperscale, open-access colocation delivered in OADC and other data centre facilities and networks across Africa, facilitating scalable, high-performance service deployment with reduced costs and improved reliability. Target buyers are hyperscalers, telcos, ISPs and content providers needing carrier-neutral hosting at cable landing sites.
• Technical Services (OATS) Holistic managed network and infrastructure services for CDNs, carriers and hyperscalers, enabling clients to leverage WIOCC's assets, experience and licensed entities for managed network requirements across Africa. Delivered via the Open Access Technical Services (OATS) sub-brand.
• Terrestrial Fibre Networks Extensive national and cross-border terrestrial fibre networks providing connectivity throughout Southern Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Central Africa regions, integrated with international submarine cable systems. Target buyers are carriers, ISPs and other operators needing national and cross-border wholesale fibre.
• Open Access Data Centres (OADC) WIOCC Group subsidiary operating a network of carrier-neutral data centres across Africa, including core facilities in Nigeria, DRC and South Africa, and edge data centres in South Africa. OADC facilities host cable landing points for major subsea systems including 2Africa and Equiano, and are used to deliver colocation services to clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2Africa predicted to generate US$26.2-36.9 billion economic impact within 2-3 years of becoming operational, equivalent to 0.42-0.58% of Africa’s GDP
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• CienacoreTechnology or IntegrationWIOCC partnered with Ciena to activate fibre pairs on the Equiano and 2Africa submarine cable systems. Ciena provides submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE), GeoMesh Extreme Solution with WaveLogic 5 Extreme coherent optics, and turnkey planning, design and deployment services. WIOCC pre-installed SLTE in OADC facilities in Lagos and Rondebosch.
• EXA InfrastructurecoreTechnology or IntegrationWIOCC signed a deal for capacity on EXA Infrastructure’s new terrestrial transport route interconnecting Africa and Europe, routing through Lisbon and Sines in Portugal. This partnership enables WIOCC to diversify its connectivity between Africa and Europe on a high-capacity network, supporting growth as the wholesale carrier of choice across Africa.
• Laser LightmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaser Light and WIOCC signed a $129 million partnership to grow businesses and increase access to data capacity for Africa, enabling expanded connectivity infrastructure across the continent.
• TechweezminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTechweez partnered with WIOCC for its Brainbox quiz night event series in Nairobi, positioning WIOCC as Africa’s Carriers’ Carrier that builds and operates submarine cables and fibre networks.
• Open Access Data Centres (OADC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOADC is a WIOCC Group company establishing a rapidly growing network of over 30 data centre facilities across Africa, including core facilities at submarine cable landing sites in Nigeria, DRC and South Africa, and edge data centres in South Africa. WIOCC leverages OADC facilities for colocation services and cable landings.
• Open Access Technical Services (OATS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOATS is a WIOCC Group sub-brand providing holistic managed network and infrastructure services for CDNs, carriers and hyperscalers, enabling clients to leverage WIOCC Group assets and licensed entities across Africa.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Equinix: Equinix is the world's largest carrier-neutral colocation operator with growing African presence (including acquired MainOne). Comparable as a carrier-neutral data centre incumbent whose Africa strategy overlaps with WIOCC's OADC roll-out and hyperscaler customer base.
• Sparkle (TIM Group): Sparkle is Telecom Italia's international wholesale carrier, operating subsea capacity, IP Transit and colocation globally. Comparable as a broader incumbent wholesale carrier with subsea assets that competes for similar hyperscaler and carrier capacity contracts.
• PCCW Global: PCCW Global is a major international wholesale carrier offering subsea capacity, IP Transit and managed services to carriers and enterprises globally, with African reach via partnerships. Comparable as a global wholesale capacity incumbent serving hyperscalers and carriers into Africa.

Direct peers

• Bayobab (MTN GlobalConnect): Bayobab is MTN Group's wholesale carrier-of-carriers business operating subsea (2Africa, WACS, ACE, EASSy) and terrestrial fibre assets across Africa. Highly comparable to WIOCC in target customer (carriers, ISPs, MNOs) and integrated subsea-terrestrial model.
• SEACOM: SEACOM owns and operates subsea cable systems along Africa's east and west coasts and sells wholesale capacity to carriers, ISPs and content providers. Comparable to WIOCC's wholesale subsea-led model and similar customer base.
• MainOne (Equinix): MainOne operates the MainOne subsea cable and West African data centre footprint (now under Equinix), serving carriers and enterprises with wholesale connectivity. Directly comparable in subsea + terrestrial + DC integration across West Africa.
• Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid Telecom): Liquid operates Africa's largest independent fibre network and data centre footprint across the continent, serving carriers, ISPs and enterprises with wholesale connectivity. It is the closest direct peer to WIOCC in African wholesale fibre and subsea capacity.
• Angola Cables: Angola Cables owns the SACS and WACS subsea systems and operates the Angonix IXP, providing wholesale capacity to carriers and content providers. Directly comparable as a wholesale subsea operator serving African and South Atlantic traffic.

Regional players

• e& (Etisalat Group): e& is a major MEA telecom group with wholesale capacity, subsea assets and data centre businesses serving carriers and enterprises. Comparable as a regional incumbent with adjacent geographic focus and overlapping carrier/hyperscaler customer base, particularly via its international wholesale arm.

Emerging players

• Africa Data Centres: Africa Data Centres operates carrier-neutral colocation facilities across multiple African countries, serving enterprises and hyperscalers. Comparable as a regional DC operator with overlapping hyperscaler customer base, though it lacks WIOCC's owned subsea capacity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wioccafrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/289915
• Xx.com/WIOCC_
• Facebookfacebook.com/WIOCCOfficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WIOCC