Kenya gets support for wireless internet expansion

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, has announced commitment and first disbursement to Mawingu Networks, a provider of solar-powered wireless Internet across rural Kenya.

OPIC committed to financing a $4.1 million loan. Mawingu Networks was able to establish their current operating model using an initial grant in 2013 from Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). They received equity funding from Angel Investor Jim Forster, Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc., and Microsoft Corporation two years after their first phase of support.