Kenyan IT firm Seven Seas Technologyes has decided to push back its initial public offering (IPO), orginally scheduled for last year, until 2017, as it looks to expand into other African markets.
Reuters reports the IPO was initially postponed last year because of concerns on the effect of the Kenyan election – which eventually passed peacefully – on investment, but the company has now pushed it further to allow it to increase its presence in other African countries.
Seven Seas is targeting generating 50 per cent of its annual revenue from countries other than Kenya by the time it goes public, so as to reduce its dependency on its home market, while it also plans to increase its portfolio.
It will launch operations in Angola and Mozambique next year while also extending operations in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
“We thought the best time to list our business is when we have a big grip on government and financial services businesses,” chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Macharia told the Reuters Africa Summit.
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