South African provider of colocation services Teraco has raised 158m South African rand (about US$23.5m) in third round of financing ÔÇô funds it plans to use to build two new data centers in the country and expand an existing one.

Teraco said it would build new data centers in Durban and Cape Town. The company plans to triple the size of its existing Johannesburg facility.

All previous investors participated in the financing round and two new ones joined. IFC ÔÇô member of the World Bank Group ÔÇô came in, becoming an equity shareholder in the company. Also now on board is the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Lucy Chege, divisional executive with DBSA, said in a statement that Teraco signified a change toward increasing effective use of resources and increasing efficiency of the telecom sector.

"This is in line with the Development Bank of Southern Africa's objective to support businesses within the telecommunications sector that will have a positive development impact and promote streamlined functioning of the sector," she added.

The previously existing investors are Treacle Private Equity, Pentangle Group and Marlow Capital.

The new financing was a combination of debt and equity.