David Adhiambo

Mawingu Networks Ltd., a Kenyan internet service provider dedicated to serving underserved communities, has successfully secured $20 million in Series C funding to expand its affordable broadband services to rural areas. The round was led entirely by Johannesburg-based Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers (Pty) Ltd, underscoring investor confidence in Mawingu’s mission to deliver connectivity where it is needed most. Currently serving over 120,000 Kenyans, the company now aims to connect one million East Africans by 2028. The investment is not just a financing milestone but a validation of Mawingu’s model and impact-driven mission. CEO Farouk Ramji emphasized that raising capital in today’s environment requires resilience and execution, reflecting the strength of the company’s people and approach. With connectivity increasingly becoming a cornerstone of opportunity and development, this funding positions Mawingu as a key enabler of digital inclusion. Mawingu has already begun its regional expansion, having entered Tanzania in 2024 through the acquisition of Habari, a long-standing internet service provider. Backed by $15 million in debt-and-equity financing from AfricaGoGreen Fund, InfraCo Africa, and FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, Mawingu is pursuing a buy-and-build strategy to scale across East Africa. By targeting local ISPs, the company accelerates growth while leveraging existing infrastructure and customer bases to close connectivity gaps. At its core, Mawingu is focused on bridging the digital divide in rural and peri-urban areas. By deploying solar-powered wireless technology and community-based distribution, the company is able to offer affordable services in regions where traditional telecom operators face challenges. This innovative approach has attracted backing from impact-driven investors, including E3 Capital, FMO Investment Management, InfraCo Africa, and Microsoft. With the latest Series C funding, Mawingu will first strengthen its presence in Kenya before expanding further into East Africa. Its mission to democratize internet access aligns with broader efforts to ensure that underserved populations are not left behind in the digital economy. As demand for connectivity grows, Mawingu is positioning itself as a regional leader in delivering affordable, sustainable, and transformative broadband solutions. #DigitalInclusion #Connectivity #BroadbandAccess #EastAfrica #Mawingu #ImpactInvestment #Infrastructure #RuralDevelopment #Kenya #Innovation https://lnkd.in/dGidXRzb

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Paratus launches Namibia’s first private mobile network In a landmark moment for Namibia’s digital landscape, Paratus has introduced a fully integrated LTE and 5G mobile network, setting a new standard for connectivity across the country. Celebrating 20 years of operations in Namibia, this launch reflects Paratus’s bold vision to drive digital transformation, empower businesses and communities, and deliver seamless, affordable and reliable connectivity solutions. It’s not just a network launch — it’s the beginning of a new era in mobile innovation for Namibia. 🔗 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/dUPcDp52 #ParatusNamibia #DigitalTransformation #Connectivity #Innovation #5G #LTE #Telecommunications #ParatusGroup

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Paratus, led by Schalk Erasmus, rolls out Namibia’s first private mobile network Paratus, the pan-African telecom group led by CEO Schalk Erasmus, has launched the country’s first private LTE and 5G mobile network, investing $34 million to connect 50 towns and 80 communities. Skipping older 2G, 3G, and 4G systems, this new network focuses on key transport corridors, including Windhoek–Oshakati and Windhoek–Noordoewer, bringing faster, more reliable connectivity to Namibians. The rollout also marks Paratus’s 20th anniversary and builds on the company’s two-decade effort to expand digital access across Namibia and Africa. With operations in 15 countries and 800 employees, Paratus continues to strengthen Africa’s digital foundations. 📌 Tap the comment below to read the full story.

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Ethio Telecom & #Huawei have made history with the region's first-ever deployment of a GigaAAU FDD tri-band Massive MIMO site, improving network performance and user experience, while serving as a major catalyst for the digital economy: https://lnkd.in/gPp9Y3vA #HuaweiNews

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Facebook Invests In Safaricom's Planned Daraja Cable The project is a 24 fibre pair cable linking Oman to Kenya with a branching unit to Djibouti. Facebook is injecting $24 million into the project. Safaricom is a publicly traded mobile operator in Kenya. It is purportedly the largest carrier in the country in terms of revenue. Its 2024 revenues reached $3 billion. ***Facebook's participation is not surprising. It owns only four of 2Africa's 16 pairs. It kept too few pairs for its network needs. While 2Africa's capacity is welcomed, East Africa's point-to-point 100G optical circuits are still quite expensive with prices ranging from high twenties to sixties. This reflects the fact that 2Africa does not yet connect Marseille and the Mediterranean to East Africa due to ongoing hostilities in the Red Sea. In term this raises prices on Seacom and Eassy cables, which are relatively small capacity systems also operating near full capacity. Even with 2Africa, total demand outstrips supply and that fact 2Africa cannot complete the Red Sea segment limits supply even more. The most important is East Africa to the Mediterranean and Europe. ***Safaricom's move into subsea cables is part of a general trend. Vodafone was the first major mobile operator to take subsea cable capacity as well as lead projects like the Bay of Bengal Gateway and provide landing services for 2Africa. Recently Mobily, a Saudi Arabian mobile services company announced a cable in partnership with Telecom Egypt to connect the two countries. In many parts of the world including sub-Saharan Africa mobile voice and data services have eclipsed the often rudimentary landline networks. Since mobile operators generate most of the voice and Internet traffic in many countries, they naturally are going to become owners and consortium members on subsea cables. ***This deal illustrates Oman's growing importance as a telecom hub. It provides physical diversity to Dubai where most Persian Gulf cables land today. Secondly, Ooredoo is opening up the local market by providing and operating carrier neutral Tier 3 data centers in Barka and Salalah. The 2Africa SLTEs will be in these two data centers so they are effectively serving as the cable landing stations. Dubai has been the dominant telecommunications hub in the Persia Gulf, but its policy of imposing severely high cross connects fees on subsea cables landing there has inhibited the telecom ecosystem. Oman may eventually supplant Dubai as the key hub as both Omantel and Ooredoo wants to host subsea cables. #subseacables #internetinfrastructure #africa #eastcoast #safaricom #facebook #oman #kenya

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