NexaWave Fibre Networks — Executive Summary
The opportunity, the headline financial summary and the investment case for NexaWave's open-access fibre infrastructure and digital-connectivity platform.
Section 1 · Business Plan
Executive Summary
The opportunity, the headline financial summary and the investment case for NexaWave’s open-access fibre infrastructure and digital-connectivity platform.
NexaWave Fibre Networks (Pty) Ltd (“NexaWave” or “the Company”) is a
Johannesburg-headquartered open-access fibre network operator being
established to build one of Southern Africa’s largest next-generation
digital infrastructure platforms. NexaWave will deploy
fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), fibre-to-the-business (FTTB), metro
backbone, township connectivity and smart-precinct
infrastructure on a strictly carrier-neutral, wholesale basis —
building and owning the physical network while multiple internet service
providers compete to sell services over it. The business model is
directly inspired by Vumatel, South Africa’s largest FNO, whose
open-access strategy passed over two million homes and connected more
than one million subscribers, validating both the economics and the
social impact of large-scale wholesale fibre.
The market opportunity is substantial and structurally supported.
South Africa’s largest FNOs collectively pass approximately 6.1
million homes against a household base near 18 million, and
national FTTH/B subscriptions reached 3.01 million in 2025 — up 22%
year-on-year — yet only 17.4% of households report fixed internet access
at home. This gap between passed, connected and unconnected homes is
precisely the value NexaWave’s plan is built to capture: an open-access
network monetises through recurring wholesale line rentals as
penetration rises across an already-built footprint.
Over the five-year plan the Company targets revenue growth from
R150 million in FY2027 to R6,800 million in FY2031,
EBITDA improving from a R120 million start-up loss to R2,900
million (42.6% margin), a network passing 2.8 million homes
with 1.45 million connected subscribers, and a gross infrastructure
asset base of R19.8 billion. The Company is raising an initial
R11.5 billion (R4.6 billion equity and R6.9 billion senior/DFI
debt), with a further ≈R7.0 billion infrastructure debt facility
required from FY2029 to complete the build to R19.8 billion of gross
assets.
FIRST
The plan targets 2.8 million homes passed in five years — a build
pace exceeding Vumatel’s first decade, achieved from a standing start.
Vumatel took roughly nine years to pass its first two million homes;
NexaWave’s plan compresses a comparable build into five. The stated R11.5 billion raise does not fully fund the R19.8 billion
asset build. Our independent modelling shows total capital deployed of
≈R17.9 billion by FY2031 (R4.6bn equity + R13.3bn debt), requiring a
second-round infrastructure debt facility of ≈R7.0 billion from FY2029.
This is disclosed as a gating dependency, not smoothed away (Section
21). The Company is EBITDA-positive from FY2028 but net-profit-positive
only from FY2030, and free cash flow (EBITDA less capex) is negative in
every year of the plan — the defining characteristic of a greenfield
infrastructure build. Returns depend on the terminal asset value and a
mid-range 11.0x EV/EBITDA exit multiple.
Headline financial summary
| Year | Revenue (Rm) | EBITDA (Rm) | NPAT (Rm)* | Homes passed | Connected | Penetr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2027 | 150 | (120,0) | (152,7) | 80k | 18k | 23% |
| FY2028 | 620 | 55,0 | (81,4) | 320k | 110k | 34% |
| FY2029 | 1 700 | 480,0 | (1,6) | 850k | 340k | 40% |
| FY2030 | 3 600 | 1 350,0 | 161,3 | 1 600k | 760k | 48% |
| FY2031 | 6 800 | 2 900,0 | 521,1 | 2 800k | 1 450k | 52% |
* Net profit after tax independently re-derived with full
straight-line depreciation on the fibre asset base (20-year passive,
7-year active), full cash interest on drawn debt, and 27% SA corporate
tax with assessed-loss carry-forward. Sponsor headline revenue, EBITDA,
homes passed, subscribers and asset value are preserved
exactly.
Confidential — this business plan is provided to prospective investors and lenders for evaluation purposes only and may not be reproduced or distributed without the written consent of NexaWave Fibre Networks (Pty) Ltd.