American-Nigerian mogul Sam Darwish’s IHS to deploy 750 towers in Brazil

IHS Holding, the global telecom infrastructure giant headed by American-Nigerian entrepreneur Sam Darwish, has unveiled ambitious plans to deploy 750 new cell towers across Brazil this year. This aims to strengthen the company’s presence in the Latin American market.

The announcement, made by Darwish, CEO of IHS Holding, underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its regional footprint. IHS Holding has established itself as a prominent player in the telecom infrastructure sector, with a substantial presence in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

“We assess acquisition opportunities globally, provided they align with our strategic vision. However, since 2021, the cost of capital has increased,” Darwish said.

He further elaborated on the company’s approach, adding: “Our current focus revolves around the principles that growth is vanity, profit is sanity, and cash is king. In essence, meticulous growth management is imperative. Our core strength lies in construction, and it is through construction that we can deliver value.”

Founded by Darwish in 2001, IHS Holding retains its position as the largest telecom infrastructure group globally in terms of tower count, boasting a robust presence in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Despite holding a 3.5-percent stake in the company, Darwish’s leadership has driven IHS Holding’s growth in recent years. In the first quarter of 2023, the company’s total assets surged to $6.49 billion, with retained losses experiencing a marginal decline to $3.3 billion.

The deployment of 750 new towers in Brazil will significantly expand IHS Towers’ footprint in the country, bringing the total number of cell sites to approximately 8,000.

Presently, IHS Towers operates an extensive network of over 39,000 towers across 11 markets, including Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kuwait, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zambia.

This strategic expansion in Brazil reaffirms IHS Holding’s commitment to providing robust telecom infrastructure solutions and underscores the company’s position as a major player in the global telecommunications industry.