Kenyan ISP Mawingu acquires Tanzania’s Habari after securing Ksh.1.9B funding

Kenyan internet service provider (ISP) Mawingu has acquired Tanzanian counterpart Habari in its first international expansion following a fresh $15 million (Ksh.1.9 billion) backing.

The start-up was founded in 2012 and provides shared internet packages in rural and peri-urban areas, targeting homes and small businesses, as well as dedicated connections and services for large enterprises.

AfricaGoGreen Fund invested $11 million (Ksh.1.4 billion) in long-term senior debt while Mawingu’s existing investors InfraCo Africa and the FMO injected $4 million (Ksh.518 million).

“This is the first strategic step towards our very targeted and ambitious rollout strategy to positively impact a million East Africans by 2028,” the company said.

Habari, headquartered in Arusha, has been operating in Tanzania for over 25 years and Mawingu CEO Farouk Ramji said the new backing will support the company’s expansion drive across Tanzania.

“We are going to use this financing to unlock, scale and replicate the success we have had in Kenya into East Africa,” Ramji said.

Mawingu is Kenya’s fifth largest ISP with a two per cent market share, behind Safaricom (36.4%), Jamii Telecom (24.0%), Wananchi Group (17%) and Poa Internet (13.2%), according to Communication Authority (CA) data.

In September, Ramji said Mawingu would exclusively offer fibre and fixed wireless services, a market Safaricom and Jamii dominate.

He told technology outlet TechCbal that around 10 per cent of its customers would be connected to fibre by the end of 2024.