Madagascar billionaire Hassanein Hiridjee has secured another major vote of confidence from international financiers after AXIAN Telecom landed a €170 million ($196 million) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), extending a funding streak that has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars into the fast-growing African telecom operator.
The financing will support AXIAN Telecom’s multi-year investment programme across Africa, helping the company expand and modernise network infrastructure, including telecom equipment, fibre networks, software systems and other digital infrastructure.
According to EBRD project documents, the facility includes a potential Kenyan shilling-denominated tranche equivalent to up to €20 million ($23 million), allowing the company to fund local capital expenditure in Kenya while reducing foreign exchange risks.
The latest financing follows a $160 million facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and a $100 million investment from EIB Global secured in 2025, taking AXIAN’s recent development-finance backing to more than $450 million and highlighting growing international confidence in Africa’s digital infrastructure sector.
