Kenya Spearheads East African Digital Connectivity Initiative

Summary:

• Kenya is collaborating with East African nations to establish digital infrastructure, aiming to bridge the region’s digital gap and spur economic growth.

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Kenya, among other East African nations, is actively engaged in discussions aimed at establishing interconnected digital infrastructure to drive regional growth. Collaborating with countries like Tanzania, South Sudan, and Somalia, Kenya is strategizing to bridge the digital gap in the region.

Stanley Kamanguya, CEO of Kenya’s ICT Authority, emphasized that the core objective of this collaboration is to enhance regional connectivity and stimulate economic development. Kenya specifically aims to extend its digital infrastructure to neighboring countries, particularly those lacking undersea cables, in order to facilitate cross-border connectivity.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to improve intra-country connectivity by addressing policy, infrastructure, and investment disparities, thus fostering economic progress and digital transformation. It aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the upcoming Connected Africa Summit 2024, slated to be held in Nairobi.

Regarding mobile connectivity, Kamanguya highlighted Kenya’s significant progress, with 70 to 80 million devices owned by a population of 55 million. However, he stressed the need for improvements in Ethernet penetration and broadband access to bridge the existing digital divide.

Despite Kenya’s connectivity through six submarine cables, including SEACOM, TEAMS, EASSy, LION2, DARE1, and PEACE1, infrastructure gaps persist across the continent. While 37 out of 38 African countries are linked to the global network through submarine fiber optic cables, only 36 percent of Africa’s population has internet access, with 473 million active users. Of these, 278 million predominantly rely on mobile phones for internet access, highlighting the ongoing importance of addressing the digital divide continent-wide.

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