With strategic support from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Poa Internet, which was founded in 2015, is scaling a model of affordable internet that is transforming digital access in Kenya’s underserved areas.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, fewer than 20% of people use the internet regularly. Kenya performs slightly better, but still, only around 40% of the population is online. For most, the only option has been mobile data bundles, which are expensive.
“The average Kenyan consumes less than a gigabyte of data a month, which is about 20 minutes of YouTube,” said Andy Halsall, Chief Executive Officer of Poa Internet. “Our mission is to get people online in an abundant way, to fully engage with the richness of the internet.”
Poa’s model relies on two innovations to cut costs: fixed wireless access and software-driven operations. “We operate a series of radio towers across Kenya and install equipment in our customers’ homes. When you add up the cost of all this, it is significantly less than alternative technologies,” said Halsall. “Because we are spending less, we can pass those savings onto our customers and offer a service that is half the price of the main fibre providers.”
But scaling this solution was not easy, as there were infrastructural gaps to contend with. Poa Internet required more funding and customer education to offer its services effectively. “We needed to build radio towers and fibre infrastructure, and to do that, we needed to raise additional capital,” noted Halsall.
At the same time, customers had to be convinced that unlimited Wi-Fi was different from costly mobile bundles. “A lot of our challenges are around educating customers to understand what they can do with an unlimited internet connection,” he said.
That capital came, in part, through the Boost Africa programme. Backed by the EIB, the African Development Bank and the European Commission, the Boost Africa Programme channels funding through venture capital funds such as Seedstars Africa Ventures, which in turn invested in Poa Internet.
EIB’s support for private equity/venture capital funds operating in Africa spans decades, and the bank has so far invested over EUR 3.8 billion of its own funds across 178 funds operating on the continent. This seed money has, in turn, mobilised over EUR 32.4 billion from a pool of other investors, who were attracted by EIB’s investment in these funds.
The Boost Africa initiative is an enhancement of the Bank’s support to private equity funds and is aimed at creating a sustainable venture capital ecosystem for young businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa to attract investors by providing both capital and technical assistance.
The initiative operates through a multi-pronged investment model, where funds are channelled into local venture capital and private equity funds, which in turn invest directly in promising high-growth enterprises and innovative start-ups.
The infusion of capital and technical support into the private sector through the initiative has provided grounds for enterprises like Poa Internet to scale their operations, expand into new markets, and invest in necessary technologies.
“That capital has been used to finance infrastructure set-up, provide equipment to customers, and hire and train additional people in all the skills necessary to deliver the internet services. Since we started working with Boost Africa, we have expanded from a few areas of Nairobi to much of the city, and now into Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret,” said Halsall.
Affordable broadband is already creating ripple effects across Kenya. A 2024 study by Altai Consulting found that 85% of Poa Internet customers use the service for professional purposes, with 68% reporting higher income or savings.
“We have a customer who sells second-hand clothes online. She produces videos of her clothes and shares them via WhatsApp, which has boosted her sales. Another customer edits wedding videos for clients abroad, and with our unlimited data, he can run his business more effectively than if he relied on mobile bundles. A third customer, who runs a carpentry business, uses Poa to operate security cameras and monitor his shop securely,” said Halsall.
Poa Internet employs more than 400 people, many of whom were recruited in the past 18 months as the business scaled. Over the next year, the company plans to expand into more Kenyan cities and eventually into other African countries. “The problem we are solving is not just Kenyan, it is Africa-wide,” said Halsall. “Ultimately, we would love to see our solution exported across the continent.”
The European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, through initiatives like the Boost Africa Programme, is designed to support exactly this type of growth: high-impact businesses that create jobs, unlock access to essential services, and strengthen communities.
For Poa Internet, the partnership is accelerating a mission that Halsall describes simply: “Our mission is to bring abundant internet access to millions of people. With partners like Boost Africa and the EIB, we are turning that mission into reality.”
Watch the success story of Poa Internet powered by EIB:
