Liquid Intelligent Technologies operates Africa's largest independent fibre network with over 110,000 km of continental connectivity, providing digital solutions including connectivity, data centres, cloud, and unified communications.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies (formerly Liquid Telecom) is a pan-African digital infrastructure and technology services company, part of the Cassava Technologies group founded by Zimbabwean billionaire entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa. The company has built Africa’s largest independent fibre network, spanning over 100,000 km across more than 15 countries, and operates data centres through its subsidiary Africa Data Centres. In South Africa, Liquid has deployed a nationwide backbone fibre network since 2006, connecting over 40 cities and towns and serving more than 5,000 businesses. Liquid’s South African operations include fibre connectivity, cloud services, cybersecurity, SD-WAN, and colocation through data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town. For SA telecoms resellers, Liquid represents both a wholesale infrastructure partner (fibre, connectivity, data centre) and a managed services provider offering cloud, security, and SD-WAN solutions that can be white-labelled or resold to end customers.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is a pan-African technology company that provides digital infrastructure and managed technology services across the African continent. Originally known as Liquid Telecom, the company rebranded to Liquid Intelligent Technologies to reflect its evolution from a pure connectivity provider into a broader technology services business encompassing cloud computing, cybersecurity, and intelligent networking solutions. The company is part of the Cassava Technologies group, a pan-African technology conglomerate that also includes Africa Data Centres, Sasai Fintech, Cassava AI, and Liquid C2 (Cloud and Cybersecurity).
Cassava Technologies was founded by Strive Masiyiwa, a Zimbabwean telecommunications entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist who built Econet Wireless into one of Africa’s leading mobile operators. Masiyiwa’s vision for Liquid was to address Africa’s “connectivity gap” — the shortage of reliable, high-speed data infrastructure that constrained the continent’s digital development. Starting with cross-border fibre routes in Southern and Eastern Africa, Liquid has grown to operate over 100,000 km of fibre across more than 15 countries, making it Africa’s largest independent fibre network operator.
For South African telecoms resellers, Liquid Intelligent Technologies operates at multiple levels of the value chain. As a wholesale infrastructure provider, Liquid’s fibre network and data centres underpin many of the connectivity services that resellers sell to end customers — whether directly through Liquid wholesale or indirectly through other carriers who use Liquid infrastructure. As a managed services provider, Liquid offers cloud, cybersecurity, SD-WAN, and collaboration solutions that resellers can incorporate into their customer propositions.
Liquid’s partner programme enables resellers to access wholesale fibre connectivity, colocation services, cloud platforms, and managed security services at partner pricing. For resellers building managed service practices, Liquid’s portfolio provides a comprehensive suite of infrastructure and technology services that can be bundled into customer-facing managed service packages. The company’s pan-African footprint is also valuable for resellers serving multi-country enterprises — Liquid can provide consistent connectivity and services across 15+ African countries through a single provider relationship.
Liquid’s core business is fibre-optic connectivity, with a nationwide South African backbone network connecting over 40 cities and towns. The company provides dedicated internet access (DIA), MPLS, SD-WAN underlay, dark fibre, and point-to-point connectivity services. Liquid’s network passes close to 100,000 addresses in South Africa, with active connections serving over 5,000 businesses. The fibre network interconnects with Liquid’s pan-African backbone, providing seamless connectivity to other African countries for enterprises with cross-border operations.
Liquid offers cloud infrastructure and platform services through its own cloud platform and partnerships with global hyperscale providers. Services include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), cloud migration, hybrid cloud solutions, and multi-cloud management. The company’s South African data centres provide local cloud hosting for organisations with data sovereignty requirements, while the partnership with global providers enables access to broader cloud ecosystems.
Liquid C2 (Cloud and Cybersecurity) is the group’s dedicated cybersecurity division, providing managed security services including Security Operations Centre (SOC) monitoring, threat detection and response, vulnerability management, endpoint protection, and security consulting. For SA telecoms resellers expanding into managed security services, Liquid C2’s SOC capability can be leveraged as a white-label or co-managed service, providing enterprise-grade security monitoring without the reseller needing to build SOC infrastructure from scratch.
Liquid’s SD-WAN services provide software-defined wide area networking for enterprises with distributed sites, combining Liquid’s fibre backbone with intelligent traffic management, application-aware routing, and centralised network policy control. SD-WAN solutions from Liquid can incorporate multiple underlay connections (fibre, LTE, microwave) for resilience and performance optimisation. For resellers, SD-WAN represents a high-value managed service opportunity with recurring revenue potential.
Africa Data Centres, a Cassava Technologies subsidiary, operates data centre facilities in Johannesburg and Cape Town with a combined potential of 19,000 square metres of rack space and 78MW of power. The facilities provide colocation, hosting, and interconnection services for enterprises, cloud providers, and telecommunications companies. IFC (International Finance Corporation) investment is supporting expansion of hyperscale data centre capacity in South Africa, signalling continued growth in this segment.
Liquid offers hosted voice, Microsoft Teams direct routing, SIP trunking, and collaboration services for enterprise customers. These services can be bundled with Liquid’s fibre connectivity for a converged voice-and-data solution, simplifying procurement for enterprise customers and creating upsell opportunities for resellers managing customer communication needs.
Liquid has been deploying fibre infrastructure in South Africa since 2006, giving it nearly 20 years of operations in the local market. The company’s South African network has grown from initial backbone routes to a comprehensive metro and long-haul fibre network connecting over 40 cities and towns. Key milestones include the build-out of Johannesburg and Cape Town metro fibre networks, the rebranding from Liquid Telecom to Liquid Intelligent Technologies, the launch of cybersecurity services through Liquid C2, and the expansion of Africa Data Centres facilities with IFC investment support.
Liquid’s primary differentiator in the South African market is its pan-African scale. No other independent fibre operator provides the geographic breadth that Liquid offers — over 100,000 km across 15+ countries, enabling seamless cross-border connectivity for enterprises with African operations. This scale, combined with data centre presence in multiple African countries, positions Liquid as a one-stop infrastructure partner for pan-African deployments.
The Cassava Technologies group structure provides another advantage. By combining fibre (Liquid), data centres (Africa Data Centres), cybersecurity (Liquid C2), and AI capabilities (Cassava AI) under one umbrella, the group offers integrated digital infrastructure and services that would otherwise require multiple vendor relationships. For resellers, this integration simplifies procurement and enables comprehensive managed service packages built on a single provider’s infrastructure.
Liquid’s South African operations are headquartered in Johannesburg, with network operations and data centre facilities in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. The company’s fibre network reaches all major metropolitan areas and key secondary cities, providing the backbone connectivity that enables enterprise-grade internet, MPLS, and SD-WAN services across the country. Liquid competes in the South African wholesale and enterprise connectivity market alongside Openserve (Telkom), Dark Fibre Africa, and WIOCC/Open Access Data South Africa.
The company’s investment in South African data centre capacity — through Africa Data Centres — positions it to capture growing demand for colocation and cloud hosting driven by digital transformation, cloud migration, and data sovereignty requirements. The partnership between Liquid and global hyperscale cloud providers ensures that international cloud platforms can be accessed with low-latency local on-ramps through Liquid’s infrastructure.
Liquid operates a partner programme for telecoms resellers, systems integrators, and managed service providers in South Africa. Partners can access wholesale fibre connectivity, data centre colocation, cloud services, cybersecurity solutions, and SD-WAN services at partner pricing. The programme provides dedicated account management, technical pre-sales support, and co-marketing opportunities for active partners.
For resellers, the most common engagement models include reselling Liquid fibre connectivity to end customers (with or without white-labelling), leveraging Liquid data centre colocation for managed hosting services, incorporating Liquid C2 cybersecurity into managed security offerings, and bundling Liquid SD-WAN with customer WAN deployments. Resellers interested in partnering with Liquid can contact the company through liquid.tech or their Johannesburg offices.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is the rebranded name of Liquid Telecom. The name change reflects the company’s evolution from a pure fibre connectivity provider to a broader technology services business offering cloud, cybersecurity, SD-WAN, and AI-powered solutions alongside its core fibre infrastructure. The company is part of the Cassava Technologies group, founded by Strive Masiyiwa, which also includes Africa Data Centres, Liquid C2 (cybersecurity), Sasai Fintech, and Cassava AI.
Liquid has been deploying fibre in South Africa since 2006 and now operates a nationwide backbone network connecting over 40 cities and towns. The network passes close to 100,000 addresses and actively serves more than 5,000 businesses with dedicated internet access, MPLS, dark fibre, and point-to-point connectivity. The South African network interconnects with Liquid’s pan-African fibre backbone spanning over 100,000 km across 15+ countries.
Yes, Liquid operates a partner programme for telecoms resellers, systems integrators, and managed service providers. Partners can access wholesale fibre connectivity, data centre colocation, cloud services, cybersecurity (Liquid C2), and SD-WAN solutions at partner pricing. Common engagement models include reselling fibre connectivity, leveraging data centre colocation for hosting, incorporating managed cybersecurity, and bundling SD-WAN services. Contact Liquid through liquid.tech for partnership enquiries.
Yes, through its subsidiary Africa Data Centres, Liquid operates data centre facilities in Johannesburg and Cape Town with a combined potential of 19,000 square metres of rack space and 78MW of power. These facilities provide colocation, hosting, and interconnection services. IFC investment is supporting expansion of hyperscale capacity in South Africa. Resellers can leverage these data centres for managed hosting services, disaster recovery, and cloud on-ramp connectivity.
Liquid C2 (Cloud and Cybersecurity) provides managed security services including 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) monitoring, threat detection and response, vulnerability management, endpoint protection, and security consulting. For SA telecoms resellers, Liquid C2’s SOC capability can be leveraged as a white-label or co-managed service, enabling resellers to offer enterprise-grade security monitoring without building their own SOC infrastructure.