Table of Contents
Cassava Technologies, the pan-African digital infrastructure group founded by telecom tycoon Strive Masiyiwa, is confronting fresh scrutiny from creditors in recent days as its most reliable cash generator moves toward going private.
A November credit opinion from Moody’s Ratings downgraded Cassava to Caa2 and warned that the company’s interest coverage falls below 1.0 when Zimbabwe earnings are excluded. Put simply, the agency suggested Cassava struggles to service its debt without cash tied to Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the group’s flagship telecom operator.
The warning has landed at an awkward moment. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe announced in December that it plans to voluntarily delist from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, citing what it called a persistent valuation discount to African peers. Bloomberg reported the company said comparable operators trade at higher multiples and have already separated tower infrastructure to unlock value.
Econet’s exit offer to minority shareholders is expected to be settled through a mix of cash and shares in a planned infrastructure unit, according to market reporting.
Cassava, which has pitched itself as a continentwide tech platform built around Liquid Intelligent Technologies’ fiber network and Africa Data Centres, faces about $620 million in outstanding senior secured notes. It also has a separate obligation of roughly $131 million, taking total near term maturities to about $751 million, according to an analysis published this week by The Southern African Times.
Creditors, however, cannot directly seize Econet Zimbabwe’s assets or compel dividends because the telecom sits outside the bondholder perimeter and is separately listed, the analysis said. That structure matters more if Econet leaves the market, trimming the routine disclosures that come with public listing.
Cassava has pursued a refinancing plan that leans on new equity and new borrowing, but progress has been uneven so far. The Southern African Times reported that a lender commitment involving Standard Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank and the International Finance Corp. was described as conditional and linked to an equity raise, with deadlines that have slipped.
At the same time, Cassava has pointed to growth ambitions in artificial intelligence infrastructure. It has touted plans for large scale GPU capacity and related partnerships, even as it tries to bring debt down.
One of the clearest cash raising steps so far is a planned sale of a minority stake in Africa Data Centres to STANLIB Infrastructure Investments. Cassava has said the funding would be applied toward debt reduction at Liquid and paired the deal with a rights offer to existing shareholders.
Investors say the bigger question is visibility. Once Econet becomes private, outsiders may have fewer tools to verify how much money is moving upstream to support Cassava’s obligations. Cash can also be shifted through management fees, royalties and intercompany loans, all legal mechanisms that are typically harder to monitor without public filings.
Econet and Cassava have not publicly detailed how future cash transfers would be structured after the delisting. Requests for comment sent to both companies were not immediately answered yet.
