Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
INTERNET services provider Dandemutande hopes the recent extension of the multi-currency regime will open up long-term borrowing for the industry.
This comes after the government extended the system to 2030 in a move that business has said helps build up policy certainty and predictability.
Dandemutande’s chief operating officer Ignatius Mpando told The Financial Gazette that the extension came at a time when companies in the information communication technology sector have been struggling to borrow to meet capital requirements.
“The digital space is where everything is going so, we see a bright future. The extension of the multi-currency regime should be able to create space for companies to borrow long term and this will boost current investment requirements. Raising capital has been a challenge. So we hope this extension will open new conversations in terms of borrowing,” Mpando said.
He said 2023 had been a difficult year for the sector mainly due to the tariff regime in place. “The price regulation affected us because the regulator did not approve tariff reviews in a timely manner so that affected the way we operate business.
“If you look at the last report from Potraz it clearly shows that costs are growing at a faster pace than revenue.” “So generally, it has been a difficult year but despite those challenges, most players have been investing in infrastructure in anticipation of the growth of connectivity and ICT requirements going forward,” he added.
This comes as Dandemutande has signed an agreement with Starlink, a United States satellite internet service provider, to resell the latter’s services in Zimbabwe. Starlink is owned by South Africa-born business mogul, Elon Musk, who is also the owner of X, a social media platform.
Speaking at a media cocktail in Harare recently, Mpando said Zimbabwe should move in line with global trends and technology. His company, he said, had seen it fit to resell Starlink products in the country and provide efficient service to their clients.
“Starlink has launched disruptive technology and as a business, I am sure you also understand that we provide services through strategic partnerships with other players.
“For the record, we have signed an agreement with Starlink to be able to resell their services in the country. In addition to what we have currently extended to the market, in the event that someone prefers to be on Starlink service, we will be able to extend that through this partnership,” Mpando said.
Starlink offers Internet services in at least 65 countries. Mpando added that Dandemutande was also on an expansion drive and aimed to invest US$5 million next year to increase its visibility in all parts of Zimbabwe and beyond.
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