• Mawingu raised $20 million from Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II to expand its rural and peri-urban broadband network across Africa, aiming for 1 million customers by 2028.

• The company doubled its Kenyan subscriber base in one year, reaching 76,650 users by June 2025, while its Tanzanian unit Habari expanded to nine regions and 4,122 users.

• Mawingu deepened its partnership with Microsoft Airband in 2023 to connect 16 million additional people in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda by 2025.

Kenyan internet service provider Mawingu secured $20 million from Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II) to accelerate its African expansion. The company announced the financing on September 30.

Mawingu said it will use the capital to expand its rural and peri-urban broadband network and target one million subscribers by 2028.

Founded in 2012, Mawingu currently covers 30 of Kenya’s 47 counties and nine of Tanzania’s 31 regions. The company launched its regional expansion in November 2024 with the acquisition of Tanzanian ISP Habari, based in Arusha.

To support that deal, Mawingu raised $15 million in financing. Since then, Habari has obtained a national license, added more than 3,000 new household users, and expanded into two additional regions.

Mawingu said it plans to replicate this strategy across Africa. “Mawingu deploys a disciplined buy-and-build strategy that consists of acquiring, developing, and operating sustainable networks in rural and peri-urban environments,” the company stated. It added that acquiring other successful ISPs will “expand Mawingu’s impact and extend its network into strategic markets across the continent.”

Mawingu has partnered with Microsoft since 2014 through the U.S. tech giant’s Airband initiative. In May 2023, the two companies strengthened their cooperation to expand broadband coverage.

The goal is to connect 16 million additional people in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda by the end of 2025. This would bring Mawingu’s total network reach to 20 million people. The company has not yet launched operations in Uganda.

Mawingu ranked as Kenya’s seventh-largest fixed internet provider with 76,650 subscribers as of June 2025, up from 38,601 a year earlier, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya. That represents a 3.6% market share.

In Tanzania, Habari grew its subscriber base from 2,822 in June 2024 to 4,122 in June 2025, according to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority. The unit holds about 1.57% of a market with 263,017 subscribers, dominated by Airtel, Vodacom, and the state-owned TTCL.

About 60% of Africa’s population still lacks internet access, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Mawingu views this gap as an opportunity, but faces rising competition.

Traditional telecom operators are increasingly targeting rural and peri-urban markets that they had previously overlooked. Satellite providers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink, also pose a competitive threat.

This article was initially published in French by Isaac K. Kassouwi

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum