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Kenya-based internet service provider (ISP) has raised $28,000,000 in a Series C funding round led by Africa50.
Now with a total funding amount of $36,000,000, Poa Internet plans to deepen its reach across Kenya and then expand into other countries in Africa.
The company is focused on enabling internet connectivity and taking underserved Africans online. Its goal is to give them a meaningful internet experience which comprises the ability to stream videos, without worrying about the amount of data being consumed.
With over 12,000 customers, including homes and small businesses in Nairobi’s low and middle-income neighbourhoods, Poa Internet has garnered tens of thousands more through its street Wi-Fi connections.
The startup has laid out its fibre network in neighbourhoods that are typically not the first target markets for its competitors like Safaricom Home by East Africa’s biggest telco Safaricom, Faiba by Jamii Telecommunication Limited and Zuku.
Poa Internet has successfully built remedies to meet the needs of last-mile connectivity, and their ultra-low-cost solutions can be used to address the significant connectivity gaps in Kenya and across the continent as a whole. This is particularly important at a time when societies and economic activities are increasingly becoming digitised as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, Africa50 currently has 31 shareholders including the AfDB, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Bank Al-Maghrib (the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Morocco, and 28 African countries. The company’s strategy is also focused on Increasing access to reliable and affordable internet connectivity.