Public-Private Partnerships and Investment Models for Africa’s �Cable Infrastructure

Collaborative strategies to drive infrastructure growth in Africa

The Elephant in the Room: What are we solving for?

• Fiber Infrastructure Deficit: Africa currently accounts for only 0.02% of the fiber infrastructure deployed globally yet has 18% of the population.
• low fiber density means mobile broadband is dominant as it’s more cost effective
• High-capacity backbones are mainly concentrated along the coastal countries with density only restricted to the larger urban centers

​

​

• Subsea cables are the lifeblood of Africa’s digital economy—carrying >95% of international data.
• Recent cable cuts highlight vulnerabilities: physical damage (fishing, anchoring), cyber risks, and limited terrestrial redundancy.
• Resilience requires secure, diversified paths and inland redundancy to reduce single points of failure.
• Private enterprise has proven impact: SEACOM’s 2009 launch helped catalyze competition and lowered costs.
• More is required to remedy the universal access equation-

​

​

Africa’s Digital Imperative & Resilience Challenge

PPPs & Investment Models That Work

1. PPPs enable risk sharing (private operational expertise; public regulatory stability), capital pooling, and faster deployment, Examples:

In Kenya, Subsea cable Projects Governments Role: Regulatory, facilitative, and often strategic investor through their State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Ensuring the projects had the critical mass of anchor tenants it needed to be bankable.

Ghana's e-Government Platform: World bank, Ghana e-Services Limited (GeSL): The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established by the private consortium for the project and the Govt via Ministry and Revenue Authority.

2. Operator Consortiums (e.g., SEACOM, 2Africa) pool private capital to build high-capacity systems while governments authorize and license them for operation continentally.

3. Open-Access & Regulatory PPPs: mandate non-discriminatory access at landing stations, shared right-of-way, and streamlined permitting.

4. Hyperscale-led finance: (Google, Amazon, Meta) brings reliable capital & advanced R&D—policy must ensure open and fair access for all by providing governance frameworks that ensure parity nationally.

5. Blended Finance: combine private investment with sovereign guarantees/DFI funding to reach landlocked countries and marginal corridors.

​

Policy Actions for Protection & Fair Access

• Govt Stakeholders and policy makers need to Leverage PPPs to de-risk large, complex projects (like trans-border fiber backbones or national data centers) to further spur private investments on the core infrastructure in subsea and middle mile.
• Designate cables and landing stations as critical infrastructure with mandatory protection zones.
• Regional harmonization : streamline licenses and cross-border processes across blocks like EAC, SADC, ECOWAS to cut delays and costs.
• Legal enforcement: deter and penalize malicious or accidental damage to cable systems.
• Enable open access: clear frameworks for landing station access, shared ROW, and one-stop permitting and creating Enabling environments

​

• Resilient connectivity is a shared responsibility across public and private stakeholders – the objectives of universal access are too grand for one single model/institution.
• Robust PPPs, diverse investment models, and smart regulatory frameworks will secure Africa’s digital future.
• Call to action: align on protection policies, enable fair access, mobilize blended finance for resilience and provide transparency and accountability of actors in the digital infra. ecosystem.

Conclusion & Outlook

• Increased focus on PPPs by Governments will further help with mitigating Sovereignty and Data Governance Risks. The PPP structure allows the government to retain ownership of the asset, set local data regulations, and ensure service continuity and security under national law.

​

• PPPs are necessary for connecting unserved and underserved (rural) areas—the "last mile" and "middle mile." Governments also need to use PPPs, often with subsidies or incentives, to guarantee that fiber backbones reach non-profitable locations with affordability of those communities in mind.

​