BRCK, a Kenyan startup that spun out of pioneering crowdmapping outfit Ushahidi, has revealed a $1.2 million seed funding round to support the rollout of its rugged router, the shipping date of which BRCK finally announced earlier this week.

The $199 BRCK router, which I covered all too briefly back in February, is designed for use in harsh environments with patchy connectivity. It can use Ethernet, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband as sources (and hop automatically between them as needed); it’s dust-resistant; it has a built-in battery to cope with blackouts; it’s impervious to power spikes and it’s generally built like, well, a brick. Oh, and it can also act as a hub for internet-of-things sensors.

The round announced on Wednesday was led by Invested Development, which said in a statement that the BRCK would aid broadband penetration “in Africa and beyond.” Other investors include Omvestments and Urban.us…