Poa!

Poa! Internet is a Kenyan internet service provider founded in 2015 by Andy Halsall, Chris Rhodes, and Michael Puchol to address the connectivity gap in underserved communities. Halsall, the current CEO, brings a three-decade track record in high-growth telecoms and technology, including roles at Fon, Orange, IBM, and McKinsey. His experience at Fon, the world's largest WiFi network, directly informed Poa!'s strategy of using affordable Wi-Fi technology to build large-scale telecom networks in Africa.

The company targets low-income households, small businesses, and rural populations in Kenya, operating in areas often overlooked by traditional fiber operators, such as the Kibera urban slum. Poa! builds and operates its own wireless network infrastructure, including over 200 towers, which allows it to profitably offer services at a fraction of the competition's price. The business model hinges on providing high-volume, low-cost internet access. Revenue is generated through subscriptions for its home and business internet packages and data sales on its public Wi-Fi network.

Poa! offers two primary services: 'Poa! Home' and 'Poa! Street'. The 'Poa! Home' package provides unlimited data with speeds up to 5Mbps for a monthly fee of around KES 1,500, with no data caps or slowdowns. This service is designed for residential use, enabling activities like streaming and browsing without the high costs associated with mobile data. For public access, the company has established an extensive network of Wi-Fi hotspots, which stood at over 10,000 as of late 2023. A business-focused service was launched in 2018, offering unlimited internet starting from KES 2,000 per month to support micro and small enterprises.

Since its inception, the company has achieved significant growth, backed by substantial investor confidence. It has raised a total of $36 million over four funding rounds. A key milestone was the Series C round in January 2022, led by Africa50, which raised $28 million to fuel expansion across Kenya and into other African markets. By early 2022, Poa! was serving over 12,000 home internet customers and tens of thousands of street Wi-Fi users, a number that grew to approximately 30,000 residential clients by mid-2024. The company also plans to introduce a sharing model, enabling micro-entrepreneurs to monetize their internet connections.

Keywords: internet service provider, ISP Kenya, affordable internet Africa, wireless broadband, Wi-Fi hotspots, last-mile connectivity, low-income communities, rural internet, digital divide, Nairobi, Africa50, Novastar Ventures, Andy Halsall, home internet Kenya, business internet, social enterprise, telecom infrastructure, emerging markets, connectivity solutions, Poa Home