👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – MTN eyes IHS takeover

MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications company, is in talks with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to acquire a controlling stake in IHS Towers, an independent owner and operator of shared communications infrastructure, and the same company that bought over 5,000 of MTN’s South African towers in 2022. If the deal goes through, MTN would own about 75% of IHS, effectively buying back the infrastructure it once sold.

Why MTN sold the towers in the first place: Like many telcos, MTN sold its towers to free up cash and reduce capital expenditure. Towers are expensive to build and maintain. Tower companies like IHS specialise in owning and maintaining passive infrastructure, like steel towers, while operators focus on customers, spectrum, and services.

So why buy them back now? Owning towers again could lower long-term operating costs and reduce reliance on a third party. By acquiring IHS, MTN would internalise those costs and regain direct control over where and how fast network infrastructure is deployed. MTN has informed shareholders that this deal could move its share price. Buying IHS would reshape MTN’s balance sheet, cash flow, and risk exposure.

Nothing is final. MTN still needs regulatory approvals, shareholder comfort, and agreement on price and structure. Until those boxes are ticked, this remains a proposal.

Rwanda has signed an expansion agreement with Zipline, a US-based drone logistics company that recently secured a $150 million US funding to scale drone-powered medical deliveries across Africa.

Why this deal is different: The money is coming through a “pay-for-performance” model backed by the United States Department of State. The US wants African governments to adopt drone logistics as national infrastructure, and not an experiment that fades after a few years. Rwanda is the first beneficiary. 

What Zipline is actually building: Under the agreement, Zipline will roll out its urban delivery system in Kigali, where a large share of Rwanda’s healthcare demand sits. It’s also adding a new long-range distribution hub and expanding coverage to more than 11 million people. On top of that, Rwanda will host Zipline’s first overseas AI and robotics testing centre.

What this deal means: Drones becoming a core infrastructure in African countries’ health systems means faster delivery of blood, vaccines, and medicines, which can directly improve outcomes in emergencies.

GoCab, a Pan-African mobility startup, secured $45 million in funding. The round comprised of $15 million in equity co-led by E3 Capital and JANNGO Capital, alongside KawiSafi Ventures and Cur8 Capital, and $30 million in debt. (Feb 3)

Here is the other deal for the week:

• Lula, a South African fintech startup, raised $20 million in funding from Dutch development bank FMO (Feb 4)

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. Before you go,here’s what we covered in the launch of our State of Tech in Africa Review for 2025. Find out more here.