Tech startup BRCK gets Sh300 million funding for expansion

Kenyan startup BRCK has secured Sh300 million funding from a group of international investors for expansion. BRCK manufactures routers and modems that enable users to access Wi-Fi Internet, especially in remote areas.

Juliana Rotich and Erik Hersman, the founders of Ushahidi and iHub, are some of the key people behind the company.

BRCK had previously received $1.2 million (Sh120 million) in mid-2014.

The firm said the new funding will go towards expansion and research.

“The new capital of $3 million will help expand the company’s operations, its ability to manufacture additional inventory, new designs of the devices and distribution across the continent and globally,” said the company in a statement.

Some of the investors in the Nairobi-based startup include TED, MKS Alternative Investments, Synergy Energy and former AOL executives Jean and Steve Case.

The devices are designed for users in remote areas where there is lack of Internet access, electricity and other infrastructure.

“At a time when education and information have never been so critical to the future of the world, connecting the four billion people that are not yet on the Internet is a top priority,” said Synergy Energy investment manager Jessica Dick.

BRCK funding comes soon after that of OkHi, another Kenyan tech startup that raised Sh77 million from investors last month.

OkHi, like BRCK, offers tech solutions to the low end of the market that is not serviced by adequate infrastructure through designing new generation physical address systems.