Cyrte Launces Africa TMT Fund

Naarden, November 16, 2009 - Following the launch of the Brazilian Telecom Fund in late 2007, Cyrte Investments is today launching its Africa TMT Fund. The fund, which is only open to institutional investors, specialises in investments within the African Telecom, Media and Technology Sectors and has a long-term focus. Equity stakes will be taken in both listed and private companies.

Following the launch of the Brazilian Telecom Fund in late 2007, Cyrte Investments is today launching its Africa TMT Fund. The fund, which is only open to institutional investors, specialises in investments within the African Telecom, Media and Technology Sectors and has a long-term focus. Equity stakes will be taken in both listed and private companies.

Through its Global TMT Fund, Cyrte already has many years of experience investing in companies with their roots in Africa. Various structural developments within and around that continent suggest that the time is right for a dedicated Africa TMT Fund. Among these developments are the ongoing process of political liberalisation and a strong increase in the interactions between African regions and large countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil. Another relevant development is the roll-out of new technologies such as mobile telephony and the internet, which is increasing the mobility of the population as well as the transparency of economic activity. As a result, entirely new markets are emerging.

It is in line with Cyrte’s TMT philosophy to start investing at the time that the implementation phase of new technologies moves into the next phase of practical application. In the two years of its existence Cyrte’s Brazilian Telecom Fund has grown into one of the largest funds in the world with a specific focus on the development of TMT-related companies. Cyrte identified that the time of moving into the application phase has come for the aforementioned sectors in Africa.

Frank Botman, CEO of Cyrte: "Last year we already noted that Africa was on the eve of a TMT revolution. All that was needed to get things going was the roll-out of undersea cable systems linking countries in Africa with each other, to replace expensive satellite connections. Currently, three African undersea networks are ready: Seacom, TEAMs and GLO1. This means that Africa is no longer isolated, and is now fully integrated into the global optical fibre network. This will create numerous new opportunities for African consumers and producers. In our opinion this marks the start of the application phase."

Cyrte expects that the developments in Africa will in many respects be a carbon copy of what other continents have shown. Nevertheless, issues such as illiteracy and the scarcity of electricity in various regions will remain substantive obstacles to the broad adoption of the internet. On the other hand, this is precisely why Africa promises to be a seedbed of many unique applications such as mobile telephones without display or devices with a built-in solar panel, to mention but a few of the endless possibilities. The fact is that the TMT revolution has now started for Africa.