Axian’s Wananchi Acquisition Marks a New Phase in East Africa’s Broadband Battle as Fibre Ownership Turns Strategic

Axian Telecom Fibre, known regionally as Yas, has completed the acquisition of a 99.63 percent stake in Wananchi Group, marking a decisive entry into East Africa’s broadband market. The deal positions Axian to compete more directly in the continent’s high-growth fibre segment, linking its existing operations with new networks across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Malawi.

Axian already connects over one million homes across Africa and sees East Africa as the most dynamic frontier for fibre demand. This acquisition gives the company immediate scale in markets where digital consumption is rising faster than infrastructure investment.

From Acquisition to Integration

Wananchi operates through two main brands — Zuku, serving households, and Simbanet, which provides enterprise connectivity through an extensive fibre backbone. Under Yas, these operations will be integrated with Axian’s fibre systems and backed by new investment to expand fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), SD-WAN, and cloud connectivity offerings.

Axian plans to merge its Tanzanian operations with Wananchi’s business to strengthen its market presence and operational reach. Continuity of employment and customer services will be maintained during the transition, the company said, as it aligns Wananchi’s local teams with Axian’s regional systems and investment platform.

Strategic Entry, Calculated Timing

The timing is not accidental. Fixed broadband in East Africa has become one of the region’s most contested growth areas, with providers like Safaricom, Liquid Home, SEACOM, and MTN Business competing to meet surging bandwidth needs. By acquiring Wananchi instead of building from scratch, Axian avoids the long and costly process of network rollout while gaining a pre-existing subscriber base, customer relationships, and fibre routes.

Industry analysts expect Axian to leverage this footprint to offer bundled fibre, enterprise cloud, and digital infrastructure services, potentially reshaping pricing and competition in Kenya’s fixed broadband segment.

The Broader Race for Africa’s Bandwidth

Axian’s move fits into a continental contest among operators racing to control fibre backbones and last-mile connectivity. Across Africa, bandwidth demand is climbing sharply, but penetration remains uneven — especially outside major cities. For Axian, the acquisition not only secures access to strategic markets but also creates a platform to expand into neighbouring states such as Rwanda, Zambia, and Burundi when conditions allow.

Its CEO Hassan Jaber said the deal reflects Axian’s long-term ambition to become a continental leader in broadband connectivity. “Wananchi’s network, customer relationships, and local expertise align with our ambition to connect millions more Africans,” he noted, adding that Yas’s experience in Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal, and Togo provides the operational foundation for this next stage.

Consolidation and the Contours of a New Market

The acquisition reinforces a pattern of regional consolidation in Africa’s telecom landscape, where fibre ownership is concentrating among a handful of cross-border operators. For East Africa, this could mean faster infrastructure upgrades and better cross-country links, but also sharper competition between major carriers with deep pockets.

Wananchi’s integration under Yas brings together capital, technical capability, and market access on a scale few domestic providers can match. Yet questions remain about regulation and interoperability, especially as governments look to balance competition with the need for large-scale investment in backbone networks.

A Measured Expansion

For now, Axian’s entry adds a new centre of gravity to East Africa’s connectivity race. By absorbing Wananchi, it gains a foothold that stretches from household internet plans to enterprise fibre solutions, linking a network that could soon span the Indian Ocean to inland markets. The company’s strategy is pragmatic — acquire scale, integrate regionally, and expand gradually through neighbouring markets.

If the execution matches the ambition, the Axian-Wananchi acquisition may become one of the defining telecom realignments of the decade, setting the tone for how Africa’s broadband future is built: through consolidation, investment depth, and regional integration rather than isolated national rollouts.

Go to TECHTRENDSKE.co.ke for more tech and business news from the African continent.

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