Kenya has asked the World Bank for $600 million in digital superhighway funding. The project includes the deployment of more than 100,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable across Kenya and the creation of 25,000 public Wi-Fi access points, as well as digital villages and studios in each of the country's 1,450 districts. It also provides for the digitization of 5,000 government services by mid-2023.
This initiative is part of the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Program (KDEAP). When he came to power in September 2022, President William Ruto stated his ambition to put digital technology at the service of Kenya's socio-economic development. To this end, he has planned various investments with the aim of making the country a digital transformation reference in Africa by 2027.
The digital superhighway project will ensure that the entire Kenyan population has access not only to telecom and broadband Internet services but also to digital platforms. This should both accelerate the digital transformation of the economy and reduce unemployment. The initiative is expected to create 1.5–2 million jobs, according to the government.
