Michael Seibel first took note of the Nigerian startup Tizeti at a conference he attended in Lagos in September, 2016. Seibel is CEO of YC, Y Combinator’s startup accelerator program. YC, headquartered in Silicon Valley, had invested in Nigerian companies before, and Seibel had traveled to Lagos at the behest of several of those startups, encouraged to seek other new companies to enroll in the accelerator.

Upon arrival, Seibel had two impressions. One was the proliferation of mobile technology. “Tons of smart phones,” he says. The other was the state of the city’s infrastructure, which was either not built, or not in good repair. “The big takeaway I had was that there’s a lot of infrastructure work that startups could do,” Seibel says.

One exception was his Wi-Fi connection at an event he attended. “We were at an event powered by wifi.com [wifi.com.ng], and the internet was good. The Wi-Fi was good,” Seibel says, laughing.

“I met the founders and heard their story. I learned how much infrastructure they put in the ground with how little funding, and how they were getting people to pay for their service. They were offering high-speed internet, something I take for granted in the U.S.,” he says. “They were effectively a first mover. I said to myself that this is perfect.”

The Wi-Fi was supplied by Tizeti Network Limited, which provides its service through wifi.com.ng. ..Read more on  http://demandasme.org/wifi-why-not/