Kenya is making an additional KSh13 billion (more than US$100 million) available to accelerate its ambitious digital Superhighway project.
The East African country’s flagship programme aims to transform Kenya into a regional digital hub, expand high-speed internet access, digitise government operations and create jobs in the digital economy.
According to John Tanui, principal secretary in the State Department for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, the new funding is intended to catalyse matching private-sector investment, with the aim of delivering at least 27 000 additional kilometres of backbone, middle-mile and cross-border fibre infrastructure.
“This investment will close connectivity gaps, strengthen network resilience and make it more affordable for operators to connect homes, businesses and public institutions,” he said.
Tanui was speaking in Nairobi, on Tuesday, at a pre-bid session for the Tender for Extending National Backbone and Cross-Border Links under the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project Framework Agreement (KDEAP).
KDEAP, supported by the World Bank, provides the financial and operational foundation for the Digital Superhighway initiative, which aims to install 100 000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable nationwide.
Fibre rollout is reported to have reached 80 000 kilometres since 2022.
The deployment has involved both the public and private sectors, which Tanui said demonstrated the power of sustained investment by both.
He added that public support would be allocated competitively through a Multi-Round Reverse Auction, designed to mobilise matching private capital and maximise value from public investment.
“This backbone investment will provide the foundation for providers to extend last-mile services and bring reliable, affordable internet closer to every household,” he said.
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