Eos Capital-backed Lightstruck Holdings is planning to roll out a N$500-million project to develop the country’s first ever open access fibre network.
The project is expected to commence in February next year and is anticipated to last 24 to 36 months.
This comes as the Eos-managed Namibia Infrastructure Development and Investment Fund (NIDIF) acquired a majority-minority stake in Lightstruck Holdings which will support the expansion of last-mile fibre infrastructure into towns and communities that were previously underserved.
“We anticipate having the wayleaves approved in the coming weeks, and if all goes well, we will have the first houses go live in February 2024,” said Chief Investment Officer at Eos Capital, Frederico Van Wyk.
He further explained that the expansion of infrastructure will lead to additional cost savings for customers and facilitate the extension of fibre connectivity to underserved communities.
“Data connectivity has a multiplier effect on so many industries, and we will continue to expand to every town that has been overlooked with fibre connectivity,” he said.
Van Wyk said the project is designed in a manner that will reduce long-term maintenance and reduce downtime even in the event of adverse weather conditions. He said this approach has proven successful previously, as demonstrated during recent rainstorms in the Western Cape.
“The resilience of the design was evident, with no disruptions experienced despite the floods in the areas where the network has been deployed. This is testament to the robustness of the design, where no downtime was experienced given the floods in the areas where the network has been rolled out,” he explained.
The project is in line with the broader mission of NIDIF, which targets infrastructure projects in Namibia, focusing on sectors such as energy, water, ICT, transport and logistics, healthcare, and education.
Eos Capital is a Namibian private equity firm with over N$1 billion in assets under management. Eos Capital manages the Allegrow private equity fund, Euphrates Agri fund and NIDIF.
NIDIF targets infrastructure projects in Namibia through equity funding to generate long-term, stable, and robust income yields and capital growth for its investors. The fund’s main target sectors include energy, water, ICT, transport and logistics, healthcare, and education.
