AccessKenya Group is a Kenyan company specializing on internet service provision, with headquarters at Purshottam Place in the

Westlands Westlands is an affluent, mixed-use commercial and residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. Location Westlands is located approximately , by road, northwest of the central business district of Nairobi. The geographical coordinates of the neighb ...

suburb of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Dimension Data Holdings Dimension Data is a company specialising in information technology services. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company maintains operations on every inhabited continent. Dimension Data focuses on services including IT consulting, technic ...

Overview

Access Kenya Group comprises Communications Solutions, Broadband Access (Blue), and Openview Business Systems. The Group has 6,000+ corporate leased lines across Kenya and employs over 400 people mainly stationed in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin. Apart from being an important politic ...

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitants, making it the largest ...

and

Eldoret Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Populatio ...

History

Access Kenya Group was founded in 1995 by brothers David and Jonathan Somen to provide information and communications technology for corporate clients within

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, under the name Communications Solutions Limited. The company changed its name in 2000 to AccessKenya. In April 2007, AccessKenya performed an initial public offering (

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

) of stock on the

Nairobi Securities Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

(NSE), becoming Kenya's first publicly listed ICT company. In 2007, AccessKenya Group acquired OpenView Business Systems. In February 2009, AccessKenya acquired Satori Solutions, a mid-sized virtual ISP to help promote the sale of the group's new

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

service which is focused on the small and home office market. As at February 2008, AccessKenya had a corporate client base of 3000; a residential base of 1500, and small/medium enterprises base of 125. In June 2013, the AccessKenya Group received a take over bid from

for 100% of the stock that would lead to the delisting of the stock from the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The offer received irrevocable undertaking from the three founders representing 30.28% of the voting rights. The offer was accepted by the shareholders at an extraordinary meeting and the company exited the securities exchange in November of the same year. Following the buyout, AccessKenya merged with Internet Solutions Kenya Limited, a Dimension Data Group subsidiary. Companies within the AccessKenya Group hold four licenses from

Communications Authority of Kenya The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is the regulatory authority for the ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) industry in Kenya with responsibilities in telecommunications, e-commerce, broadcasting and postal/courier services. ...

(CA) including DCNO, ISP, PDNO, and Local Loop Operator licenses. In February 2018, AccessKenya officially re-branded to Internet Solutions Kenya.

Subsidiaries and Investments

The companies that comprise the AccessKenya Group include, but are not limited, to the following: * Communication Solutions Limited - 100% Shareholding * Broadband Access Limited - 100% Shareholding * Access IT Limited (formally Openview Business Systems) - 100% Shareholding * TEAMS Kenya Limited - 1.8% Shareholding

Governance

AccessKenya Group is governed by a seven-person Board of Directors with Daniel Ndonye serving as the Chairman of the group and Richard Hechle as the Group CEO.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Accesskenya Group Telecommunications companies of Kenya Telecommunications companies established in 1995 Companies formerly listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange Companies based in Nairobi 1995 establishments in Kenya