Internet service provider TooMuch Wifi has promised to connect more South African townships as it looks to expand to Gauteng in affordable plans.
This comes after the ISP recently an undisclosed amount of financial backing from Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC).
TooMuchWifi is a wireless ISP developed specifically for low-income individuals and SMEs in under-served communities such as townships and rural areas.
ITWeb reports that the company has been providing fibre-backed internet connection to South Africans since 2016.
After taking the job as CEO in January, Tauriq Brown has started and successfully sold ventures for Rocket Internet, a global internet and tech incubator with a market cap of $3.7 billion, including an exit to Alibaba.com, the Chinese online retail giant.
“I’ve earned my tech stripes by scaling businesses around the world, including the highly-successful Rocket Internet. My goal with TooMuchWifi is to drive a rapid increase in our customer base by growing its presence countrywide, asserting its dominance in Cape Town, then broader Western Cape and Gauteng, with the aim to expand into Africa within two to four years,” says CEO Tauriq Brown.
“To achieve this, we have secured a significant amount of debt and equity funding for an undisclosed amount.”
In addition, the company recently attracted a blend of debt and equity funding from the MIC, which now has a 24.85% stake in the business, as well as global impact investors Bamboo Capital Partners and others, to scale operations and bolster its executive team.
“MIC is an incredible strategic partner for TooMuchWifi. Their funding has provided a solid foundation to build our company’s growth,” comments Brown.
“Building an internet service provider is a capital-intensive business, and this funding is critical for us to expand our network, make capital investments in hardware, and hire more staff at all levels of the business to drive expansion and exceptional customer service.
“We started TooMuchWifi in 2016 to bring high-quality, reliable, and affordable internet to underserved communities at a time when nobody else was focusing on this market. We always believed connectivity is a human right and everybody deserves to be connected.”
TooMuchWifi has a presence in over 40 under-resourced communities in the Western Cape, with over 400 000 customers, growing at a consistent monthly rate of 10%.
These communities include Athlone, Atlantis, Belhar, Bellville, Bishop Lavis, Blue Downs, Bonteheuwel, Charlesville, Crossroads, Elsiesrivier, Guguletu, Hangberg, Hanover Park, Happy Valley, Heideveld, Imizamo Yethu, Joe Slovo and Khayelitsha.
