The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has extended a grant to CSquared, a pan-African technology company, facilitating a feasibility study for the development of an open-access cross-continental fiber optic backbone network in Africa. This initiative aims to provide hundreds of thousands of Africans with access to affordable broadband for the first time.

This landmark deal was formalized during the recently concluded 2024 American Chamber of Commerce Business Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, where U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, was also in attendance.

Commenting on the partnership, USTDA’s Director, Enoh T. Ebong, highlighted the agency’s commitment to collaborating with CSquared to pioneer Africa’s first open-access trans-continental digital infrastructure. Ebong emphasized the project’s potential to empower inland African communities by integrating them into the digital economy.

“The grant also stands as a testament to USTDA’s proactive role in advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s Digital Transformation with Africa initiative while creating new opportunities for U.S. solutions to address African digital priorities,” he said.

Echoing this sentiment, CSquared Group Chief Financial Officer Eddie Irungu shared the company’s vision to digitally connect Africa, making connectivity more accessible and affordable. Irungu expressed gratitude for USTDA’s instrumental support in providing the feasibility study grant, emphasizing the project’s potential to revolutionize connectivity in landlocked areas. “The project is to build a cross-continental open-access backbone highway, with metro and last mile networks subsequently built along the way. This is very promising as it would be the first of its kind to provide landlocked areas with open access to affordable connectivity to subsea cables on both sides of the continent,” he said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman hailed the transformative impact of digital access on Kenya and the broader African continent. Whitman highlighted the partnership’s goal of providing affordable and accessible internet to more communities, thereby unlocking new opportunities for businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs.

The USTDA-funded study will assess potential fiber backbone routes spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. The study will also evaluate options for expanding fiber network infrastructure along the backbone and extending last-mile connections to towers, businesses, and homes.

CSquared has become a leading regional backbone and open-access digital infrastructure provider in Africa, with over 7,000 km network footprint in Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Togo.