Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II), a South African private equity vehicle, is set to acquire a 35% stake in Mawingu Networks, a Kenyan internet service provider, in a deal that will hand the fund controlling interest in the company.
The proposed transaction, currently under review by the Comesa Competition Commission (CCC), comes eight months after Mawingu raised $15 million in debt financing to fund expansion in Kenya and a strategic acquisition in Tanzania.
The Nairobi-based internet provider used the funds—led by an $11 million loan from the Africa Go Green Fund—to scale its fixed wireless and fibre internet offering in rural areas, and to acquire Habari, a Tanzanian ISP based in Arusha. The latest equity sale signals a shift in Mawingu’s capital structure amid increased investor attention on Africa’s digital infrastructure.
On Wednesday, CCC said it will assess the impact of the deal on competition across the regional economic bloc. However, it noted that no overlaps exist between the acquiring and target entities.
“The commission will determine, among other things, whether the proposed transaction is likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the Common Market,” CCC said in a notice.
PRIF II is managed by Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers and backed by several development finance institutions, including the African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, British International Investment, and the Coalition for Human Rights in Development.
Since its launch, PRIF II has backed 11 companies across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Madagascar, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has exited four of those investments.
Founded in 2013 by Joakim Vincze and Farouk Ramji, Mawingu began operations by leveraging unused television frequencies to deliver internet services to rural areas. The company has since pivoted to fibre and fixed wireless connections, extending its reach to rural and peri-urban areas in western and northern Kenya, regions overlooked by larger ISPs.
Mawingu holds a 3.2% share of Kenya’s fixed internet market, ranking sixth among service providers. It has grown from just over 16,000 subscribers in 2022 to nearly 59,000 by March 2025, driven partly by early support from development financiers such as Microsoft and the US International Development Finance Corporation.
The startup has raised $29 million across six funding rounds, backed by DFIs and VCs including E3 Capital, FMO, Aster, Africa Go Green Fund, and Kepple Africa Ventures.
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