Internet Expansion strategy—Mawingu carries the Baton
Mawingu Internet expansion strategy:
On October 1st, 20-25 at its Nairobi, Kenya ABC Place head office, Mawingu, one of East Africa’s largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) , announced that it has secured a K sh 2580 million (M) ($20 M) investment from Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II), a leading African infrastructure investment fund, to expand its internet connections offerings. Notably, Mawingu is focused on rural and peri-urban markets and remarkably this strategic funding will accelerate its mission to scale inclusive, affordable & sustainable internet access across underserved communities in Africa.
The investment is a significant milestone in Mawingu’s long-term internet expansion strategy, which aims to impact 1 million people across the African continent by 2028 through a combination of disciplined acquisitions of local ISPs and the development of digital infrastructure in areas historically left behind due to high capital costs and geographic barriers.
“As a multi-country operator on the continent with dedicated presence in the rural and peri-urban markets, this latest funding marks a significant milestone for Mawingu, moving closer to our goal of positively impacting 1 million people in Africa by 2028,” affirmed Farouk Ramji, Mawingu CEO during the announcement event.
According to Ramji, Internet access has been shown to deliver benefits for education, employment, and income, as well as promoting wider economic development. Yet, in many African countries, rural and peri-urban customers tend to be un-served or underserved by existing broadband provision and with access costs also being prohibitively high. To address this ‘digital gap,’ Mawingu, through a disciplined ‘buy-and-build’ strategy, acquires, builds, and operates sustainable networks which can be deployed in challenging rural and peri-urban environments. The identification and acquisition of other successful ISPs will rapidly broaden the scale of Mawingu’s impact, enabling the company to expand its network to strategic markets across the continent.
Further, the expansion strategy will cement Mawingu’s successful entry into Tanzania through the 2024 acquisition of Habari Tanzania. Since the acquisition, Mawingu has secured a national license, added more than 3,000 home users, and extended Habari’s coverage to 9 regions including Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Manyara, Mara, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Morogoro and Shinyanga.
And according to Ridwaan Tayob of PRIF II, Mawingu’s track record of disciplined growth and innovation in underserved markets makes it an ideal partner for PRIF II. “This investment reflects our confidence in Mawingu’s ability to scale sustainably across Africa; we’re excited to support their mission of expanding meaningful connectivity where it’s needed most,” affirmed Tayob.
According to revelations provided at the event, the limited adoption of fixed broadband in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) represents a missed opportunity for inclusive digital and economic growth. While mobile internet is more widespread, household-level fixed broadband remains accessible to only around 12 per cent of households. Yet, the World Bank research efforts indicate that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration can raise GDP growth by 1.38 per cent in developing countries.
Currently, Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II) is the second infrastructure investment fund managed by Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers (PRIM) – a South African firm co-founded in 2012 by Remgro Limited’s Phutuma Nhleko, and the PRIM leadership. Launched in 2021, PRIF II focuses on inclusive, long-term infrastructure development in digital connectivity, energy, transport, and logistics sectors across Africa. (Check https://www.pembani-remgro.com/ for more information).
Meanwhile, Mawingu delivers meaningful, reliable internet to rural and peri-urban areas through a combination of wireless, fibre, and green-energy technology. Established in 2012 in Nanyuki, Kenya, Mawingu today connects over 26,000 homes and businesses across 31 counties in Kenya and operates more than 200 base stations, making it the largest ISP in the region dedicated exclusively to underserved markets. In 2024, Mawingu expanded beyond Kenya through the acquisition of Habari Tanzania, further strengthening its mission to drive digital inclusion across East Africa. (More information available on www.mawingu.com)
Mawingu’s Humble beginnings:
Ramji founded Mawingu in 2012 as a startup in Kenya’s Nanyuki town. “Running a startup is never easy and we have had our own share of challenges and ups and downs. In the process, we’ve also tried new things, processes and ideas and we’ve learnt a lot,” Ramji responded to questions in the questions & answers session. “The lessons have made us more focused and we shall continue to learn,” he affirmed.
As aforementioned, the company has expanded into 31 counties in Kenya guided by its focus on factors such as viability, profitability and flexibility (to delivery) targeting rural & peri-urban homes that have been ignored yet are hungry for data usage and with 12 million (M) homes keen and ready to get connected to internet in Kenya and 14 M in Tanzania respectively. In Kenya, only 2.5 M homes are connected.
The company has provided direct employment to 380 people in its commitment to giving intrinsic value to people and its people –centeredness values including in its partnerships from which it has realized huge impact. It also envisions endless chances in Kenya and Tanzania before it can venture further afield in the continent
“Our first focus for expansion outside Kenya was Arusha, Tanzania given the area’s good Business to Business (B2B) market providing meaningful interactions with us and other businesses. In Arusha, there is also good systems and cultural integration and we’re still learning from the market,” Ramji averred.
The company is determined to provide internet to 30,000 homes and positively impact 1 M lives in Africa by 2028 bolstered by its strong financial sustainability values, good quality and respect and care for people.
The company’s social pillar is the Mawingu Foundation that was founded in 2023 as not-for- profit body working in all the 31 Kenyan counties and guided by two factors namely the possible impact on people & lives and enablement of commercial viability.
“We support viable and profitable institutions (including schools among others) with good quality and affordable internet to spur more growth and positive impact on communities. We’ve seen such impact,” Ramji affirmed.
“We also value partnerships and embrace partners with whom we’re almost liked-minded and those who have strategic mindsets, believe in scaling up and have need to choose the right partnership,” he added.
Regarding the cost of internet in homes, Ramji explained that the firm’s research work enables the right pricing and validates the work done in connecting rural & peri-urban areas. “Our focus shall remain households in neglected rural & peri-urban areas and offices using fixed broadband. We will not go into mobile internet any time in the near future,” he assured.
According to the CEO, home internet requires unique infrastructure which is cheaper and flexible and also not as expensive as the overhead towers used elsewhere.
Will the firm expand into more Kenya counties? “We may go that route depending on our research for viability and economic sense in such moves,” he averred.
On cyber-attacks prevention readiness, he asserted that Mawingu has a strong IT team with experts working to prevent and stop possible threats and gaps and also working to reduce internet redundancies. “We will continue learning how to deal with all the threats and also continue investing. We will also continue building AI portals that can enable advantages such as clientele instructions in local languages. Already, some portals are offering such instructions in the Somali language,” he reveled. According to Ramji, initial installation costs sometimes also limit access to internet in homes and offices. {Ends}
