For the February/March 2022 issue of Capacity Media Magazine, MainOne CEO, Funke Opeke sits down with Natalie Bannerman to talk about next steps for the company following the company’s acquisition by Equinix.
Read excerpts below:
On how Equinix’s acquisition of MainOne came about, Opeke acknowledged that Equinix had always intended to enter Africa, and the deal with MainOne came down to a combination of key factors, shared values and timing.
“MainOne was funded by financial investors over a decade ago and they have continued to mature and provide governance for the company. We have witnessed tremendous growth and even post-Covid we’ve experienced accelerating growth with a lot of global players trying to come into the continent, so I think it was a convergence of those drivers.”
This perfect storm created “a good jumping-off point for the current shareholders of MainOne to exit the company”, she said.
Speaking on why Equinix was selected from the list of suitors, she said it all came down to alignment. “Culturally, we find them to be a great team to work with. We think they bring value to our business and they recognise that we bring value to them as well. I truly think it was just natural chemistry that made it possible.”
Addressing the company’s integration, she said Equinix in not looking to displace or disrupt, but rather compliment MainOne with the capabilities that they have on a global basis.
“We will continue to run as MainOne under the Equinix umbrella. And we will continue to grow and try to accelerate that business in West Africa with the same management team we have today.”
Equinix will scale up MainOne’s existing capabilities, “ensuring we are properly integrated into platform Equinix and all its capabilities,” she added.
Asked whether she has any big plans for MainOne after the acquisition, Opeke’s answer is simple: “No. Just bigger, faster, better.”
