AXIAN Telecom’s fibre subsidiary, Yas, has moved to deepen its footprint in East Africa’s broadband market with the acquisition of almost all of Wananchi Group, one of the region’s most established fixed internet and enterprise connectivity players.
AXIAN Telecom Fibre Ltd, which trades as Yas, has completed the purchase of 99.63% of Wananchi Group (Holdings) Ltd. The deal gives Yas control of a business that has built a strong presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi, with more than one million homes passed across the region through its fibre network.
East Africa has become one of Africa’s most dynamic broadband corridors, driven by soaring data consumption, remote work, cloud adoption and the digitalisation of businesses. By bringing Wananchi into its fold, Yas is positioning itself to tap this growth by offering faster, more reliable and more inclusive connectivity to households and enterprises, while also creating a launchpad for expansion into neighbouring markets.
Wananchi is best known to consumers through its Zuku brand, which offers home internet and entertainment services, and to corporate customers through Simbanet, which provides enterprise connectivity and managed network solutions. The company operates an extensive fibre backbone and last-mile infrastructure that will now sit within Yas’s broader fibre portfolio.
Under Yas’s ownership, Wananchi is expected to benefit from fresh investment and access to group-wide technical and commercial expertise. This should support the expansion of key services such as Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solutions and cloud connectivity products aimed at businesses of all sizes.
AXIAN Telecom CEO Hassan Jaber said the acquisition fits squarely into the group’s ambition to become a leading force in broadband connectivity across the continent. He highlighted Wananchi’s strong network assets, customer base and local know-how as natural complements to Yas’s existing East African operations and an effective bridge into new high-potential markets like Kenya and Uganda.
Bertrand Lacroix, CEO of AXIAN Telecom Fibre, framed the transaction as a major step toward building a pan-African broadband champion. He pointed to Yas’s track record so far, including doubling its fixed broadband base and delivering double-digit growth in both revenue and EBITDA, as evidence that its investment-led strategy is working.
Yas already operates across Tanzania, Madagascar, Comoros, Senegal and Togo. Integrating Wananchi will allow the business to leverage greater operational scale, shared infrastructure, and cross-market experience. The company has also emphasised continuity: existing jobs and day-to-day operations are expected to be maintained to ensure a seamless transition for staff, customers, and partners as Wananchi begins its next phase under the Yas brand.
AXIAN Telecom, through Yas and its other units, now operates in 11 markets across Africa and the Indian Ocean, spanning mobile and fixed connectivity, digital infrastructure and mobile financial services. Yas itself is the continent’s sixth-largest mobile operator with more than 41 million customers, having grown rapidly through a mix of acquisitions and heavy network investment since 2015.
By folding Wananchi into its portfolio, Yas is betting that scale, unified branding and deeper fibre reach will be decisive advantages in the race to connect millions more homes and businesses across East Africa.
