BRCK, the Kenyan communications software and hardware company, has acquired Surf, a local internet service provider to become the second largest public Wi-Fi network in Africa. The acquisition is meant to help BRCK to gain more fixed Wi-Fi locations.
According to Erik Hersman, BRCK CEO, the acquisition has the entire company very excited about the potential to be across multiple Kenyan cities and to continue growing their network quickly.
“BRCK is rapidly expanding its network, so adding the Surf network and software assets to our company allows us to grow faster in fixed Wi-Fi locations,” he said.
Following the acquisition, the company will now have over 2,000 public hotspots across Kenya, with up to 500,000 users a month. There will also be an increase in terms of Wi-Fi access points, where BRCK’s Wi-Fi access points will increase from its current 1,500 nodes to 2,700 nodes. This will make it one of the biggest public Wi-Fi zones in Sub- Saharan Africa.
“This marks an important moment in BRCK’s journey towards meeting Africa’s unique needs and expanding on the continent’s connectivity infrastructure. BRCK believes that the acquisition will go a long way towards supporting Africa’s technological evolution,” said Hersman.
The union of BRCK, which was established in 2013 to provide internet services in rural Africa and Surf is expected to further improve the internet access in Kenya, whereby according to the 2018 Communication Authority third quarter report, the internet penetration in the country stands at 43%.
In 2018, BRCK recorded 20% month on month growth of fixed data subscribers. However, now with Surf’s acquisition, it is expected to grow at a faster pace. The company, which has operations in both Kenya and Rwanda, is expected to improve the Internet sector in Kenya by increasing competition and internet access in the country.
This is just the start for BRCK, which has plans to expand out of the continent in the near future.
“BRCK’s ambitions are to first create a profitable and replicable business model for Africa’s internet users in East Africa, and then expand to other geographies across the continent. We see a need for our network in Africa, but also in Latin America and Asia. As we grow, we will continue to look for partners in the countries that we are expanding to,” said the BRCK CEO.
