By Senior Editor, China Africa News
Nairobi- Kenya and China have made a breakthrough in digital infrastructure cooperation, as they officially activated the eastern segment of the 2Africa submarine cable in Nairobi on Friday, 7 November 2025.
In a ceremony attended by senior Kenyan government officials, Chinese diplomats and industry executives, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, William Kabogo Gitau, declared, “This infrastructure will deliver unprecedented capacity, making it one of the most significant connectivity investments ever undertaken on the continent.”
He added that for Kenya the project complements the country’s own “Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy” agenda, boosting access to affordable internet, strengthening regional digital-infrastructure resilience in East Africa, and hastening cross-border connectivity.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan emphasized that China, as a trusted partner, “fully supports Kenya and other African countries in exploring their own paths to development and in advancing global progress through cooperation in science and technology.” She noted that under the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), digital collaboration is becoming a new highlight of practical cooperation between China and Africa.
From the Kenyan public’s viewpoint, this milestone signals cheaper and faster internet access, more reliable connectivity for businesses and educational institutions, and stronger regional integration of East Africa’s digital economy. Kenyan telecom operators and start-ups stand to benefit from increased capacity and international linkages.
From China’s side, the event underscores its role as a major partner in Africa’s digital transformation and supports its ambitions to build global digital infrastructure. For Africans more broadly, this project promises improved access, lower costs, better resilience to disruptions, and an opportunity to leapfrog in areas such as cloud services, data centres, and cross-border digital trade.
The 2Africa cable system is a massive subsea fibre-optic network that will circle Africa and extend into Europe and Asia, landing in 33 countries and designed for up to 180 terabits per second capacity.
The project is led by a consortium including Chinese-backed firms such as China Mobile International alongside global telecoms partners. With this eastern segment now active, the next phase will be to ensure full commercial service integration, local last-mile infrastructure, and broad-based access throughout East Africa.
