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Econet secures US$50m loan
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
January 21, 2010

http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=14532&cat=8

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has secured a US$50million loan from the African Export Import Bank for immediate disbursement to fund its ongoing network expansion programme.

The facility is part of a US$200 million funding package which the company has mobilised, including supplier facilities which were announced towards the end of last year.

Econet chief executive Mr Douglas Mboweni, who announced the news, said the company was extremely grateful to Afreximbank for their continued support.

"Afreximbank has supported Zimbabwean industry through the country’s toughest times. Our group is profoundly grateful to them."

Mr Mboweni said the Afreximbank loan was part of the funding that would be used to take the network to five million subscribers by the middle of the year.

"We are currently sitting on a core capacity of 5,1 million, but we need to install a lot of base stations between now and June to fully realise that capacity in terms of customers."

The Econet boss said part of the money had been used to buy equipment for the completion of the 3G network.

"I can confirm that we have paid for the full 3G network. We are installing the full system in all the major cities.

"The small system in Harare will be expanded by a factor of 10, and will be much faster after the expansion," he said.

Econet currently has more than three million customers, which represents close to 80 percent of the four million cellphone users in the country, according a recent Government report. The company plans to have five million customers by June this year. Econet last week announced that it was rolling out 200 new base stations within the next two months.

The company is also commissioning a new switch at Pockets Hill that would bring Econet’s total complement of switches to three, including the two that are in the Willowvale industrial area and Bulawayo.

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