Seacom gets grant to explore fibre in East Africa

28 Jun 2019

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to Pan-African service provider, Seacom, for a feasibility study to evaluate the market for fibre telecommunications services in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda.

L to R: (Back row) Matthew Rees, interim coordinator at Prosper Africa; Tonny Tugee, managing director East North East Africa (ENEA) at Seacom; Danielle Agress, country manager for Southern Africa at USTDA; Heather Lanigan, regional director for Sub-Saharan Africa at USTDA and Jacob Flewelling, Sub-Saharan Africa regional manager at USTDA.

(Front row) Suveer Ramdhani, chief strategy officer at Seacom and Thomas R. Hardy, acting director at USTDA.

The grant will provide Seacom with analysis to determine where to expand infrastructure in the target countries and recommend related investments, such as fibre optic cabling and network equipment to increase and improve access to services across East Africa. The project will provide affordable, reliable high-speed connections across East Africa, enhancing business growth and spurring innovation and productivity in the region.

“USTDA is pleased to build on its partnership with Seacom to support this important project,” said Thomas R. Hardy, acting director at USTDA.

We are responding to a growing demand for affordable and reliable high-speed connections in the region and in a way that expands opportunities for US companies.

“USTDA has been a valued partner to Seacom since its early beginnings and has been fundamental to the launch and growth of the Internet in Africa. Their continued support through this project will enable critical research on enterprise markets in East Africa, and produce related investment recommendations. Seacom looks forward to continuing this partnership and the project’s success,” said Suveer Ramdhani, chief strategy officer of Seacom.

Hardy signed the grant along with Ramdhani at the Corporate Council on Africa US-Africa Business Summit 2019 in Maputo, Mozambique.

The project supports Access Africa, a partnership between USTDA and US industry leaders to advance the development of high-quality information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and services across sub-Saharan Africa.