Kenya Digital Superhighway Project

The Kenyan Government has approved the implementation of several initiatives as part of its new Digital Superhighway Project, which seeks to strengthen the country’s information communication and technology backbone.

The Digital Superhighway Project, approved by Cabinet, will prioritize two main areas:

•    Expanding Kenya’s fibre network coverage countrywide:  The plan calls for the laying of 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) of fibre optic cable. This expanded infrastructure will create 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots as well as Digital Village Smart Hubs in each of Kenya’s 1,450 wards (the country’s lowest administrative units).

•    Increasing e-Government Services: The Government of Kenya intends to automate over 5,000 government services within six months (mid 2023). The digitization process will have the following thematic channels – business process automation; digitization of manual records; enhanced data sharing across agencies; and use of a single unique identifier for access to digital services.  Importantly for U.S. companies, the Government of Kenya, through the ICT Authority has opened tenders for various opportunities related to the Digital Superhighway project. 

The opportunities include procurement of last mile and public Wi-Fi connectivity as well as 8 lots (contracts) of backbone and metro connectivity. Further information can be found here.

Additionally, U.S. companies can refer to the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Programme (KDEAP), supported under the World Bank Digital Economy Moonshot Project.

For additional information, please contact CS Kenya Commercial Assistant Leone Mutoka at Leone.Mutoka@trade.gov