VivaJets Grows Fleet to Eight Aircraft, Pushes into Francophone Africa

VivaJets, a Pan-African business aviation company, has restated its expansion drive into Francophone Africa as its fleet grows. Just over a year after receiving its Air Operator Certificate (AOC), the company has expanded to eight aircraft.

The company took part as a partner and participant in the fifth UK-West and Central Francophone Africa Trade and Investment Forum (WCAF V), held in Conakry, Guinea, in October. The forum was themed "From Cooperation to Transformation: Building the Future of Development in Africa" and brought together government representatives, institutional stakeholders, businesses and international partners to explore trade, investment and economic opportunities across Francophone West and Central Africa.

VivaJets has also secured two rounds of credit investment from London-based TLG Capital to support its expansion and its mission of improving connectivity through private aviation.

Chief Executive Officer Erika Achum said Francophone Africa is an important opportunity to deepen regional connectivity and support the movement of people, ideas and investment, adding that the company wants to be a trusted aviation partner to businesses and institutions shaping the continent's future. Chief Operating Officer Tejumade Salami said the expansion is about building operational strength, service capability and partnerships, not only adding aircraft. Head of Growth and Innovation Basil Agbor said the forum offered a platform to understand regional markets and build partnerships.

An operator that reaches eight aircraft within roughly a year of AOC issuance, backed by two rounds of external credit, illustrates how younger African business aviation companies are being financed: debt from a London-based lender rather than a manufacturer or a founding airline. Credit-funded growth ties fleet expansion to utilisation, so the pace of adding aircraft depends on how quickly new markets turn into steady flying.

Francophone West and Central Africa is a logical next step for a Pan-African operator because cross-border private aviation there depends on relationships with governments, institutions and corporate clients. Attending a trade and investment forum is a market-entry method suited to that: it puts an operator in front of the public and private decision-makers who generate charter demand for official travel, project work and investor visits.

The management comments point to where the test lies. Salami framed the expansion as operational strength, service capability and partnerships rather than aircraft count alone, which means the next evidence will be whether partnerships in Francophone markets are announced and whether the fleet grows beyond eight.