The Smart Africa Alliance, Bayobab and Africa50 have partnered to support the Project East2West initiative with regulatory and policy engagements as the project links landlocked African countries with an extensive terrestrial fibre-optic network.

In May 2023, Bayobab rebranded from MTN GlobalConnect to position the business as an Africa-focused open-access digital infrastructure platform, simultaneously partnering with Africa50 to develop Project East2West to connect the eastern shores of Africa to the continent’s west upon completion in 2025.

For landlocked African countries, Project East2West will improve latency by almost two-thirds and increase capacity to support high-quality broadband access.

The latest partnership, concluded in November, recognises the important role of pan-African collaboration in constructing the “telecommunications highways” that are essential to meet surging demand and the need for affordable connectivity solutions across the continent.

Bayobab Group CEO Frédéric Schepens points out how the partnership underscores the imperative of bridging the digital divide by extending networks from Bayobab’s 16 subsea cable systems around Africa, connecting landlocked regions and creating more awareness of the initiative across Africa.

“This collaborative endeavour signifies the power of pan-African partners coming together to develop connectivity solutions tailored for African development. It exemplifies the unity of purpose among organisations that are dedicated to bridging the digital divide and enhancing connectivity infrastructure on the continent,” he says.

Enhanced terrestrial fibre connectivity directly contributes to economic growth, strengthening businesses, facilitating ecommerce and granting broader access to educational resources, thereby propelling development.

“We believe that such transformational projects are key to creating a future where our youth are given opportunities to learn, share, create and play an active role in building resilient societies through innovation and new technologies,” adds Africa50 MD Demba Diallo,