Kenyan Communications hardware company BRCK acquired the assets of Nairobi Surf-based Internet provider and its US parent, EveryLayer, in a purchase agreement for an undisclosed amount in February.
About EveryLayer
Based in Nairobi, Surf is an access point service provider aimed at providing affordable internet for lower income segments. BRCK is a five-year company that combines its rugged WiFi routers with Internet service packages designed to put people online in border and emerging markets.
What does this acquisition mean?
With the acquisition, BRCK earns the assets of EveryLayer and its subsidiary of Surf, based in San Francisco, including 1200 hotspots and 200,000 active clients in 22 cities in Kenya, According to the CEO and founder of BRCK, Erik Hersman.
Backed by $ 10 million of investors including Steve Case’s revolution The venture capital fund, BRCK plans to use its new resources to expand into an undisclosed East African country and is considering options abroad. “We are looking at Indonesia and starting our pilot in Mexico next month,” Hersman told TechCrunch on a call from Kigali.
Providing internet solutions
BRCK built its platform to provide Internet solutions mainly in Kenya and Rwanda. In 2017, the company launched its SupaBRCK product and combined it with its Moja service, which offers free public WiFi, internet, music and entertainment, subsidized by business partners.
It is not a requirement to click or see ads to get access to Moja, although users can get faster speeds if they “interact with one of our business partners … doing a survey, downloading an application or viewing an ad,” Hersman said.
In 2018, BRCK began offering SupaBRCK devices to Nairobi drivers
Matatu Buses for travelers from Kenya to access Moja. As of January, Moja traffic is accumulating 300,000 active units and 3.7 million impressions per month, according to Hersman. There is more about the agreement and the internet connectivity equation of Africa in this exclusive acquisition of TechCrunch.
Also published on Medium.