Raxio raises additional $46M for data center growth, CEO plans exit

African data center operator Raxio has secured an additional $46 million in equity funding and announced that CEO Robert Mullins plans to step down in the second half of 2024.

This significant investment comes from existing shareholders Roha and Meridiam, and the funds will be strategically deployed to support Raxio's expansion initiatives and facilitate the development of high-quality hyperscale-ready data center facilities in leading African metro areas.

This investment will enable Raxio to provide enhanced services and cater to the growing demand for reliable data storage, processing and connectivity solutions in Africa, the group said.

"This capital injection will allow Raxio to continue to expand its presence across the continent and to deliver the resilient mission critical environments that our customers are looking for," Mullins said in a statement.

"We are excited about the future and look forward to continuing our mission of enabling businesses across Africa to thrive in the digital age," Raxio's CEO added.

Raxio operates in seven key markets including Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola and Tanzania.

"This funding will help Raxio expand and consolidate its position as the provider with the widest geographic footprint of data centres in Africa at a time where demand for high-quality digital in Africa continues to grow from both international and local businesses," Brooks Washington, partner at Roha, said in a statement about the investment.

Raxio's data center operations span Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Cote d'Ivoire, the DRC, Angola and Tanzania.(Source: benzoix on Freepik)

"The digital revolution in Africa is gaining momentum, and Raxio is playing a pivotal role in fueling this transformation. ... With this additional equity injection, we look forward to witnessing Raxio's continued growth and impact," added Mathieu Peller, partner and deputy CEO at Meridiam.

This additional $46 million in equity funding comes shortly after Raxio successfully secured a facility of up to $170 million of debt earlier this year, from Proparco and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company.

"Together, these investments have made Raxio the best-funded independent data centre platform on the continent, solidifying its financial strength and securing its growth prospects," Raxio claimed.

Succession planning for next CEO

The Raxio board of directors also today announced that they had hired Egon Zehnder to find a successor to Mullins, who recently advised the board that he wishes to hand over the reins to a successor in the second half of 2024.

"Building the company from scratch to where we are today has been extremely gratifying, and I have enjoyed every minute of it," said Mullins.

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"With four more data centres coming on-line over the coming 6-9 months, the job will increasingly shift to managing ongoing operations, alongside business development. Having secured all the funding needed to execute our current business plan it seemed like the natural moment for me to hand over the baton to someone else," the CEO explained in a statement.

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*Top image is of the Raxio Group CEO Robert Mullins speaking at an event in Uganda in 2021. (Source: Raxio.)

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa