Speaking at an Imara investment conference on Friday, non-executive director Shingai Mutasa said that the company would embark on strategic reorganisation of existing investments over the next two years in a bid to unlock embedded real value and drive cash generation.
He said the current cash resources stood at well over US$20 million and the group was looking at investment in high growth cash generation businesses that would deliver significant long-term value.
“We are looking to use that capacity as we identify new areas like mining,” said Mutasa. “The mining sector is one of the few globally competitive areas in Zimbabwe so we are in the process of identifying global partners in mining.”
He said the company was not worried over the indigenisation policy introduced by the government and would partner with any interested international investor.Masawara, which concluded a second placement on AIM on May 9 raising US$23,5 million, invests in entities where it has the ability to influence the business at board level.
“We are currently in acquisition mode as we have spent the last 9 months acquiring assets and mapping out a growth projectile,” he said.Masawara has also procured state-of-the-art infrastructure from Cisco and Alvarion and is set to pose huge competition to existing telecommunications service providers through its subsidiary, Telerix Communications.
Mutasa told delegates that they had invested in an undersea fibre-optic cable which is already in place, adding that the company hoped to enter the commercial sector by June, then the retail sector by August.
“We will review progress on investment depending on how competition plays out. However, we will be setting up base stations within the next two months in and around Harare,” he said.
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The group holds an Internet Access Provider (IAP) Class A Licence that legally entitles it to construct, operate, develop and maintain a public data internet access and voice over internet protocol (VOIP) in the country.
Mutasa said that the group was pursuing two projects: to connect Zimbabwe to the undersea fibre-optic cable so as to improve quality and reducing the cost of international bandwidth.
Masawara will soon develop fixed, nomadic and fully mobile broadband services via fibre and WiMax network architecture. The group anticipates that the business will be a competitively priced supplier of reliable high speed internet.
