Kenya’s AI plans hinge on new $2bn Africa-Asia subsea cable
Kenya’s ambitions to become Africa’s artificial intelligence hub will depend partly on a planned $2 billion (Sh258 billion) subsea cable linking Africa directly to Asia, its developer says.
Seacom, the Mauritius-headquartered firm that launched Africa’s first privately owned subsea fibre optic cable in 2009, plans to complete the project in 2030.
The cable is meant to open a new route across the Indian Ocean and carry the high-capacity traffic that AI needs, which existing cables were not designed for.
With Mombasa as the main landing point for East Africa’s internet traffic, how much capacity reaches the coast will shape Kenya’s AI plans.
Speaking on BBC Africa Enterprise, Seacom Chief Technology Officer Prenesh Padayachee said the Indian Ocean basin is “fairly devoid of connectivity” compared with routes between Europe and North America.
“AI will drive high speed connectivity in a very elastic way. So, not what we typically have in a home today, but now you’re looking at 10s or hundreds of gigabits of capacity,” Mr Padayachee told host Nancy Kacungira.
“If you look at the cables that exist today, that technology won’t run on those older cables. So, we’re building a newer cable with newer technology that allows us to have high speed connectivity.”
Seacom is not alone. Global technology firms such as Google and Meta are also laying their own subsea cables, which Mr Padayachee said lets them “drive down the cost for their connectivity”.
Demand is already rising in Kenya, where banks and technology start-ups are deploying machine learning tools that place heavier loads on networks.
Policy uncertainty
The regulatory picture, however, remains unsettled. A Senate committee has rejected the Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026, saying its penalties and regulatory reach would stifle local start-ups.
With the Bill stalled, physical infrastructure has become more important to delivering the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030, which aims to position Kenya as Africa’s leader in AI innovation.
For Kenyan businesses, the shift to AI-ready networks will shape the cost, speed and reliability of their internet connections.
Greater capacity also means more sensitive data crossing borders, raising exposure to cyber threats for banks, telcos and government agencies.
The Communications Authority of Kenya reported that distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks rose 114.3 percent to 72.16 million in the year to June 2026.
On November 2, Kenya inaugurated the board of its new National Cybersecurity Agency, which is tasked with protecting critical information infrastructure.
Mr Padayachee said Seacom is exploring quantum-based encryption to stay ahead of threats to its own networks.
“Cyber criminals will continue to be there, and all of these threat actors will continue to be there. It’s about being one step ahead of them,” he said.
He said he hopes the new cable will change how connectivity is viewed across the continent.
“For many, many years, I said connectivity should be considered an essential service, similar to electricity and water,” Mr Padayachee said.
“If you start to look at it like that, you’ll then start to understand that this has become the lifeline for many things people can’t do.”
Until the cable is completed, Kenya’s AI ambitions will rely on networks that were not built for the capacity AI demands.
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