Burundi and Zambia are to be connected via an underwater fibre optic cable, following an agreement at the Digital Government Africa Summit, which has was just held in Lusaka, Zambia.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) paves the way for the cable to be submersed in Lake Tanganyika, connecting the Northern province of Zambia with Burundi’s southernmost province of Makamba.

A yet-to-be named private firm has been contracted for the project.

Burundi will become the ninth country to be connected to Zambia by cable, after Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Felix Mutati, Zambia’s science and technology minister, said: “The connection of the two countries (Burundi and Zambia) will make Zambia a regional hub for information and communication technology.”

Léocadie Ndacayisaba, Burundi’s minister of communication, technology and information, said the signing of the MoU paved the way for more collaborations between Zambia and Burundi.

Mutati met fellow ICT ministers from several African countries at the Digital Government Africa Summit, which included colleagues from Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan and Tanzania.

Of his meeting with Nigerian senator, Garba Musa Maidoki, where the development of Zambia’s fintech sector was discussed, Mutati said: “Zambia has a lot to learn from Nigeria in that area.”

According to officials, Nigeria has a total of 200 fintech businesses, focused on financial inclusion and solutions.

Between January and September 2024, these Nigerian firms raised over $1 billion in investment.