Global technology company Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) has selected Kenya’s leading telecom operator Safaricom PLC as the landing-partner for a new high-capacity submarine cable system, a move set to deepen the country’s connectivity to the Middle East and accelerate its digital infrastructure strategy.
The cable system, known as the Daraja Cable (from the Swahili word “bridge”), will run approximately 4,108 km between Salalah in Oman and Nyali Beach, Mombasa, Kenya, and is comprised of 24 fibre pairs, significantly more than the 8-16 fibre pairs typical for comparable systems.
According to filings and statements, Meta’s Irish subsidiary Edge Network Services Ltd is providing full funding for the cable system, while Safaricom will manage the Kenyan landing station and in-country infrastructure.
The partnership between Meta and Safaricom for Kenya’s new submarine cable marks a pivotal moment for the country’s digital infrastructure.
By becoming a landing partner for a major international cable system, Safaricom has taken a decisive step in its transformation and Kenya has deepened its connectivity to the Middle East and global internet backbone.
For Kenya, the partnership marks a strategic shift in its “submarine cable Kenya” infrastructure: previously reliant on leased capacity, Safaricom will now operate infrastructure directly and become a greater stakeholder in international bandwidth capacity.
Safaricom’s chief executive, Dr Peter Ndegwa, described the deal as “a significant strategic milestone” as the company celebrates its 25th anniversary and positions itself under its Vision 2030 roadmap as a technology company rather than merely a telecom operator.
For Meta, the Oman-Kenya link complements its wider global submarine cable strategy, giving it a route that bypasses the congested Red Sea corridor and thereby supports its cloud, artificial intelligence and regional growth ambitions.
The Daraja cable will bolster bandwidth, reduce latency and enhance resilience for East Africa’s internet ecosystem.
The 24 fibre-pair design provides significantly more capacity than many legacy systems, and the route gives Kenya a strategic data-backhaul route to the Middle East, reinforcing its potential role as a regional connectivity hub.
Safaricom, which controls around 65 % of Kenya’s mobile market, is especially reliant on growth in data and enterprise services, as voice revenues become increasingly saturated. The new cable infrastructure is poised to support the telco’s push into cloud-hosting, enterprise bandwidth and 4G/5G services.
The project has already passed through the environmental impact assessment stage by Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for the Kenyan segment.
The timing is significant: with global traffic reliant on undersea cables; some estimates suggest more than 95 % of global internet traffic flows via submarine cables, the ability to control landing infrastructure is a strategic asset.
Competitive pressure in Kenya is also rising as alternative connectivity technologies such as satellite internet (for example Starlink) gain traction, making resilient terrestrial and subsea fibre infrastructure ever more important.
The Daraja cable is expected to be ready for service in 2026. Once operational, it will underpin faster broadband, improved cloud services and potentially lower costs for business and consumers alike in Kenya and the wider East Africa region.
Meta’s involvement underscores the business imperative for tech giants to invest directly in global infrastructure to support their platforms, artificial-intelligence ambitions, and data services. The Daraja cable represents one piece of a much larger network of undersea systems that major players are rolling out across Africa and beyond.
In addition, while the cable brings substantial promise for Kenya’s digital economy, realising that promise will require complementary investments in domestic fibre, data-centres and last-mile connectivity. Infrastructure alone is necessary but not sufficient.
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