South African telecom group Vivica has secured 14.4 billion rand, about $900 million, to fast track fibre broadband expansion across the country. The funding round covers its two connectivity units, Vox Telecom and Frogfoot Networks, along with prepaid fibre brand Hypa.
The deal combines 8.4 billion rand in fresh equity and roughly 6 billion rand in debt. Abraham van der Merwe, chief executive of Vox and Frogfoot, confirmed the figures. He said the capital will speed up network builds across South Africa’s underserved communities.
The new investors include the DNI consortium, made up of DNI 4PL Contracts, JSE-listed Sabvest Capital, Masimong Group Holdings and Draper Gain International. EM-Three joins as the third-largest direct shareholder, while Metier Capital Growth Fund III is reinvesting. RMB Ventures and the Mineworkers Investment Company are exiting their positions and selling down stakes. RMB also advised on and helped fund the transaction.
Frogfoot, South Africa’s fourth-largest fibre network operator, plans to use the money to scale its rollout dramatically. The company currently connects around 80,000 homes a year. With this new funding, it wants to reach 360,000 homes annually, a fourfold jump. Frogfoot’s CEO, Shane Chorley, said the plan will also create about 5,000 direct jobs in the communities where the network expands.
The growth strategy targets South Africa’s townships and lower income neighbourhoods, areas that fibre providers have largely ignored until now. According to the companies, the country’s 4.5 million affluent suburban households are already close to saturation point. But 12 to 15 million township households remain largely unconnected, with fewer than two million currently using fibre.
Townships offer a strong business case for fibre operators. High population density lowers the cost of building infrastructure per home, which allows providers to charge lower retail prices. Township customers also tend to buy time based prepaid vouchers instead of the monthly contracts common in suburban areas. This model suits lower and irregular incomes better than fixed monthly billing.
Frogfoot will continue operating on an open access basis in these new areas, meaning multiple internet service providers can sell services over its infrastructure. Hypa will act as an anchor retail brand to guarantee a reliable presence wherever Frogfoot builds, though Hypa will also sell over rival networks. Chorley noted that while consolidation is happening in the saturated suburban fibre market, the township footprint still offers years of room to grow without operators duplicating each other’s infrastructure.
The transaction places the combined value of Frogfoot and Vox at 14.4 billion rand. That includes an after debt equity value of 8.4 billion rand. Despite the strong valuation, the companies reported a combined net loss after tax of 256 million rand and a negative net asset value of 665 million rand as of August 2025. Investors appear to be betting on long term infrastructure value rather than current profitability.
Vivica restructured its business in 2023 into four separate units. These are Frogfoot, Vox, which wholly owns Hypa, Stage Zero for renewable energy, and Vivica itself, which handles technology and head office governance. This latest capital raise flows specifically into Frogfoot and Vox, and no single shareholder holds a majority stake after the deal.
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South Africa’s broadband market has been competitive, and Vox has performed well on service quality. In Opensignal’s first quarter 2026 report on South African fixed broadband, Vox led every category measured, including download speed, upload speed, consistency and reliability. That track record may support the company’s case as it pushes into new, harder to reach markets.
If Frogfoot hits its 360,000 homes a year target, it would mark one of the fastest fibre expansions in South Africa’s history and a significant step toward closing the country’s digital divide.
