Bridging the Digital Divide: Farouk Ramji Speaks About How Mawingu Is Connecting Rural Kenya and Tanzania

As you shift from Venture Capital to Private Equity, what type of Investor are you looking to Attract for your next growth phase?

I believe Mawingu has, over the past four years, demonstrated the viability of our unit economics through the growth achieved in Kenya and the acquisition in Tanzania. We have shown that it is possible to build a company based on strong gross margins and profitability.

We are now seeking long-term infrastructure investors—capital that is more patient in nature, given the longer return timelines typical of infrastructure investments. This is Mawingu’s key attraction point.

There are many available funds and numerous high-profile industries to invest in. Where we differentiate ourselves is in offering a strong blend of profit and purpose. That is what Mawingu represents.

With proven success in Tanzania and a scalable model in Kenya, what is your investment thesis for Pan-African expansion, and how do you position Mawingu as a high-return, high-impact opportunity?

The way we first started was as a greenfield. We obtained our licences in Kenya and began organic growth by building our own infrastructure, then co-locating with partners. It has taken years and a great deal of learning.

The acquisition in Tanzania was another important learning experience for us. We followed a disciplined mergers and acquisitions approach, targeting companies operating with between two and five million dollars in revenue, strong financial performance, clean balance sheets, and healthy profit and loss accounts—companies that would contribute immediately at a consolidated level with Mawingu. Our objective going forward, in terms of continental expansion, is to maintain this disciplined M&A approach.

You have outlined an Overall Goal to connect One Million Africans by 2028. From an Investment Standpoint, what are the Financial and Operational Levers that will allow Mawingu to reach this Milestone without compromising the Security of the cost?

 It is about making smart and correct investments. When you look at Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi—four or five countries in East Africa—that is equivalent to almost one Democratic Republic of Congo or one Nigeria. Therefore, making the right investments, ensuring the largest return, and consolidating our efforts could form the basis for the next phase of our growth.

Instead of spreading ourselves too thin across many countries, we may adopt a different model. Mawingu could explore something like a franchise model or an ISP-in-a-box model. It could vary, but first and foremost, we want to build a strong foundation in two or three countries and truly prove the viability of our model before exploring ways to replicate that success across the continent.

How do you Quantify Economic Empowerment, and how does that Data Factor into Investor discussions?

The statistics from the World Bank are clear. A 10% increase in internet penetration results in a 1.38% increase in GDP. The facts are straightforward. If we can increase affordability and meaningful access to the internet in hard-to-reach areas, we can directly impact the economy.

What lessons have you learnt navigating that shift, and how do you Finance your Journey to become a Credible Candidate for Institutional and Strategic Investment?

It is a journey that aligns with the company’s lifecycle. In our early stages at Mawingu, venture capital was the appropriate type of investment. Investors were supporting ideas that had not yet been proven and economics that were still evolving. As we have grown, scaled, and become a multi-country operator with strong profitability metrics, including cash flow and profit before tax, we have entered a new phase that requires a different type of investor.

What Africa needs are strong secondary liquidation opportunities. This is one of the gaps in the continental investment landscape. If we can demonstrate with Mawingu that our early investors achieved solid returns, we can attract new capital into the business—capital that is more patient and long-term oriented.

It is about showing that early investors were able to realise returns, thereby making the company attractive to new investors who can take it to the next level. The entire continent, not just Mawingu or the companies in our space, needs to focus on creating more opportunities for secondaries and liquidity.

What are your key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and how do you distinguish yourself in your position?

We do not outsource any of our technical operations or sales. We are present on the ground in the communities we serve. In Kenya, for example, as far north as Mandera, our operations and sales teams are locally based. When you drive down the street, you will see a Mawingu vehicle, and if you are receiving an installation, it will be from us directly.

We operate a large-scale network with a 24/7 network operations centre and a 24/7 customer service centre. We have also ensured that we can communicate in local languages. A significant portion of our customer base is Somali-speaking, and we have Somali-speaking agents to enable effective, relatable communication.

Another key differentiator is our role as a community-based operator. Mawingu has established , Mawingu Foundation. We support institutions in the communities we operate in by building community hubs. Our aim is to connect homes through the Mawingu commercial model, while local schools are connected through the Mawingu.org model—a subsidised plan where they only pay for internet access at cost. We believe that by building this kind of ecosystem, we can ensure a continuous, 24/7 impact of internet connectivity within these communities.

Where do you see yourself in the next three years? What is your vision?

In the next three years, this company must grow nearly fivefold from its current position—measured by subscriber numbers, revenue, and the number of markets we serve. I see this as a multiplier effect.

We began as a small company operating in fewer than ten counties in Kenya. Today, we are present in 31 counties with over 26,000 customers. We have also acquired a company in Tanzania with a national licence that is currently scaling. The goal is to replicate this success not only in our existing regions but in new markets across the continent.

What would be your message to the international community about Kenya and the wider region? Many have shifted their focus away from Africa. What is your response to that?

 We need to look at this in terms of the size of the market. If we zoom into Kenya alone, there are 50 million Kenyans living in 12 million homes, and only 1 million are connected to the Internet. That leaves a gap of 11 million homes to solve for. The focus should be on the size of the addressable market. There is room for multiple operators to play at different levels in delivering that function.

Tanzania presents an even greater challenge. It has over 70 million people and 14 million homes, yet only 300,000 are connected to the Internet. The issue becomes more pronounced the further into central Africa you go.

The size of the problem is precisely where attention should be directed. If we can deliver a financially sustainable company, the market size is evident. There is no reason investors should not be focusing on Africa.