Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, has officially taken a private stake in Safaricom’s $2.9 billion (Ksh 2.98 billion)) subsea fibre-optic cable project, strengthening Kenya’s digital backbone and advancing global internet infrastructure. The project, dubbed the Daraja Fibre Optic Cable, will stretch 4,108 kilometres from Oman to Mombasa and is expected to go live in 2026.
The Daraja system will deploy 24 fibre pairs, compared to the 8-16 typically used in existing cables, delivering significantly higher capacity to meet the increasing demand for broadband, 4G, and 5G services. According to filings with Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (Nema), the cable has already secured environmental clearance and will land at Nyali Beach in Mombasa, with extensions into Tanzanian waters.
Safaricom executives noted that the partnership as a game-changer for Kenya. “This gives us direct control over international bandwidth supply, lowering costs and improving service reliability for millions of Kenyans. It cements our role as a digital hub for East Africa,” a senior official told reporters.
Meta, Safaricom Seal $2.9B Deal to Supercharge Kenya’s Internet Backbone
Meta is investing in the project through its Irish subsidiary, Edge Network Services, as part of its broader Project Waterworth, a $10 billion-plus initiative spanning more than 50,000 kilometres of subsea cables worldwide. The mega-network, set to connect five continents, includes new routes in the United States, Brazil, India, and South Africa, while deliberately avoiding geopolitical hotspots such as the Red Sea and South China Sea, where frequent cable cuts have disrupted global internet traffic.
In a joint statement, Meta executives Gaya Nagarajan and Alex-Handrah Aimé said: “Project Waterworth will be a multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment to open three new oceanic corridors with the abundant, high-speed connectivity needed to drive AI innovation around the world.”
The Oman–Mombasa link will also add redundancy to Kenya’s internet infrastructure, which has suffered costly outages from breaks in the Red Sea and East African subsea systems. With competitors like Starlink entering Kenya’s market with satellite internet, analysts say the Daraja Cable will help terrestrial providers like Safaricom stay competitive.
ICT analyst Faith Wambui noted: “Cheaper and faster internet is not just about convenience—it drives innovation, powers e-commerce, enables remote work, and creates jobs. The Safaricom-Meta partnership could be a turning point for Kenya’s digital economy.”
