Mawingu Networks, a rural and peri-urban Internet service provider, has obtained $9 million (Sh1.1 billion) in capital from three equity investors to fuel its development efforts.
InfraCo Africa, a new investor, joined previous institutional investors E3 Capital and the Dutch development bank FMO in the latest round of fundraising.
InfraCo put in $6 million (Sh739.5 million), while the other two put in $1.5 million (Sh185 million).
“InfraCo Africa’s $6 million commitment, delivered through its dedicated investment arm, will support Mawingu to roll out infrastructure across Kenya that will increase access to affordable Internet connectivity to underserved households and businesses,” said the infrastructure investment firm in a statement.
Mawingu employs wireless technology to establish Internet networks in rural and peri-urban regions, with an initial objective of delivering Internet services to the community on the foothills of Mount Kenya in Nanyuki.
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The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) reported 14,370 Internet subscriptions or 1.5 percent of the total market share in its sector statistics report for the three months ending September last year.
When compared to competitors, it came in sixth place, trailing market leader Safaricom (35.6 percent), Wananchi Group trading as Zuku (25.5 percent), Jamii Telecommunications (22.1 percent), Poa Internet (10.8 percent), and Liquid Telecommunications Kenya Limited (1.7 percent).
Poa Internet raised Sh3.1 billion from Africa50, a funding entity sponsored by the African Development Bank, in January last year to expand its services to more low-income communities in Kenya and beyond.
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Mawingu, which already operates in 15 Kenyan counties, claims that the latest amount of finance will allow it to expand to an additional 25 counties, with a focus on rural areas.
“Mawingu will begin its expansion plans in February 2023 and has set its eyes on western Kenya targeting Kisii, Migori, Bungoma and Kakamega. This kick-off will set the pace for the year as more parts of the country will be connected monthly, moving forward,” said the firm.
Following the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, demand for fixed Internet has increased in recent years as people shift to working from home and schools adopt e-learning.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard