Agnes Limo, widely known as Mama Fibre, has spent her entire career in the telecommunications sector. So when she walked away from a lucrative role at Safaricom to start her own firm, it was less a leap into the unknown and more the culmination of years of industry insight.
She joined Safaricom in 2006 as a Transmission and Planning Lead, rising through the ranks to become Senior Manager of Home Solutions. But in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when work, education and social life abruptly shifted online, Ms Limo made a decisive move.
Alongside a group of friends, she co-founded Village Communications Limited (Vilcom), betting on surging demand for reliable home internet.
“Everyone was now working from home and learning had been disrupted. People needed reliable internet connectivity more than ever,” she says.
The decision, however, was not without hesitation. Leaving the security of formal employment required years of reflection and planning.
“I don’t want to paint a picture that leaving employment is easy,” she says. “Even after you leave, there’s always that thought 'I can go back if things don’t work out,” she says.
Support from her co-founders and peers who had taken similar paths helped steady her resolve. Their experiences offered both perspective and reassurance at a critical moment.
Exponential growth
Starting out in 2020 with fewer than 10 employees and backed by shareholder funding, Vilcom has since grown into a company employing more than 500 people, about 200 permanent staff and nearly 300 on temporary contracts.
“These are families that Vilcom has touched,” she says. “That responsibility motivates me. We cannot afford to fail.”
Drawing on her years at Safaricom, Ms Limo entered the market with a clear understanding of both infrastructure and customer needs. That experience has helped Vilcom carve out a foothold in Kenya’s competitive fixed internet space.
The company now serves over 100,000 customers across 25 counties, giving it a 4.7 percent market share. According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, Vilcom is currently the country’s sixth-largest fixed internet provider, placing it among a small group of firms to cross the 100,000-subscriber mark.
Its footprint extends as far as Lodwar in Turkana County, reflecting a deliberate focus on underserved and remote regions, an ambition Ms Limo says is embedded in the company’s name.
“We are committed to transforming underserved and unserved areas into thriving, connected communities,” she says. “One home, one business, one institution, one town and one village at a time.”
Expansion plans
Vilcom now plans to expand into at least 10 more counties this year, as it seeks to grow its market share and deepen its presence beyond urban centres. In the longer term, Ms Limo has her sights set on regional expansion.
Her growth strategy has been underpinned by strong financial backing from shareholders, which she describes as critical in navigating the capital-intensive nature of the telecoms sector.
“As much as we started as a small group, we quickly brought in more people to help propel the company forward financially,” she says. “That support has been key to where we are today.”
Vilcom’s rise comes amid intensifying competition in Kenya’s fixed internet market, which remains dominated by Safaricom, with a 35 percent share and over 800,000 subscribers.
The recent entry of Starlink, backed by Elon Musk, has further unsettled the sector, particularly with its promise of connectivity in the hard-to-reach areas Ms Limo's company targets. Ms Limo, however, does not view satellite internet as a direct threat.
“I don’t see Starlink as a competitor, but as an enabler,” she says. “We have people in places where connecting them via fibre is very difficult due to cost implications, but satellite technology has simplified this.”
Rather than a zero-sum contest, she envisions a more collaborative ecosystem where satellite and fibre providers complement each other.
Mentorship and impact
Beyond business, Ms Limo is also focused on mentorship and impact. A holder of a Master’s degree in Public Policy Management from Strathmore University and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Nairobi, she is passionate about encouraging more girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Last November, she was appointed to the board of Moi Girls High School, her former school, where she hopes to inspire the next generation of female engineers and technologists.
For now, Ms Limo says the mission remains clear: to bridge connectivity gaps while building a sustainable business. In a sector defined by scale, capital and competition, she says she is betting that reaching the underserved will not only expand access, but also redefine the future of connectivity in Kenya.
