Bayobab, a subsidiary of MTN Group, has partnered with the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund to establish Project East2West, a terrestrial fibre-optic cable network that will connect ten African countries from the east to the west. The partnership will invest up to USD 320 million over the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 to achieve this goal. This project is part of MTN's 'Ambition 2025' plans and will help Bayobab achieve its target of having 135,000km of proprietary fibre by 2025.
MTN Group's President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, stated that the partnership with Africa50 comes at the right time, as MTN rebrands MTN GlobalConnect to Bayobab, focusing on an Africa-centric open-access digital infrastructure platform. Mupita claimed that Project East2West is more than just cables and connections; it is about building connectivity bridges that span nations and bring people closer together. He believes that Project East2West will be crucial for landlocked African countries, reducing latency by almost two-thirds and increasing capacity to support high-quality broadband access.
As a result of this partnership, Bayobab will provide high-quality broadband access to areas that were previously underserved, thus promoting economic development in those regions. The partnership will also create job opportunities in the telecommunications industry and contribute to the development of the African digital economy.
