Businessman Andile Ngcaba’s Convergence Partners ICT investment firm is eyeing more investment opportunities across SA, with a $300 million fund.
The deep-tech investor, founded by Ngcaba in 2003, is focused on the telecommunications, media and technology sectors in Africa.
The companies under its portfolio include broadband infrastructure company CSquared, edge computing firm inq., fleet management firm Ctrack, and systems integrator Datacentrix.
During an interview with ITWeb TV, Ngcaba, who is executive chairman of Convergence Partners and SolCon Capital, said the ICT investment firm has over $600 million worth of assets under management and is looking to increase this value.
“Convergence has a footprint in more than 25 countries across the continent and other countries where we provide services. Today, we have around $300 million in our fund and our objective is to invest in companies that build digital infrastructure that cuts across Africa.
“We believe that by 2040, we will have two billion people on the African continent. Think about more than two billion phones that will be needed to connect those people; think about the infrastructure that will be needed to enable the digital economy. Digital infrastructure is at the core of what we do, and we believe it will be key to building the foundation for Africa’s economy heading into 2050.”
Foundational investment
Ngcaba pointed out Convergence Partners has a large portfolio, with two funds running concurrently – the main fund and the vintage fund. It is looking for opportunities in satellite, software, edge computing, fibre networks, data centres, wireless, towers, cloud, internet of things, artificial intelligence (AI) and other critical digital infrastructure that is vital for the growth of the digital economy on the continent and in Southern Africa, he noted.
“We do invest in other technologies and other areas, but Africa remains our key focus. We want to build a quantum future for Africa, and to do this right, you have to start with digital infrastructure.
“Think about the role of edge data centres as the amount of data that would be generated explodes. By 2050, Africa will be leading the world in the digital ecosystem, with a population that is the youngest in the world, so the opportunities on this continent are huge. That's why you see everybody in the world, like the hyperscalers, coming to the African continent – that is because of the amount of time spent by young people in the digital ecosystem.”
In July, the Competition Commission and Independent Communications Authority of South Africa unconditionally approved the transaction in which Convergence Partners will buy Datacentrix.
The ICT systems integrator provides solutions and services across the information value chain, with a big focus on AI.
In December, Ngcaba’s Ctrack fleet telematics firm completed the acquisition of Inseego’s international telematics business, for an undisclosed amount.
This acquisition enhances Ctrack’s presence in critical markets, and the integration of Inseego’s telematics business has unlocked substantial growth opportunities, he stated.
“Our interest in Ctrack is all data-related. Ctrack is basically a traditional telematics business focusing on tracking of vehicles. But today we don't just do that; we provide services related to observability in vehicle fleets that carry vegetables from farms in Limpopo to Gauteng. Minerals are also transported from DRC to Maputo. Through our services, goods are tracked and monitored all the way to the ports.”
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