Tech companies such as Google and Facebook parent Meta are investing in new data highways and speeds for Africa. The first Google Cloud data center on the African continent has been up and running since January in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"The big US tech giants have recognized the existing connectivity gaps and the need for additional investment associated with this as a major business opportunity," Tevin Tafese, data scientist at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, told DW.

"Prominent examples are Google and Meta, whose major cable projects are aimed at reducing the cost of accessing their own service in a largely untapped African market," said Tafese.

Google had committed $1 billion in 2022 to driving Africa's digital transformation, including undersea cables for faster internet connections. One of the projects is called Umoja — named after the Swahili word for unity — and aims to be the first ever fiber-optic cable connecting Africa directly to Australia.

Anchored in Kenya, the fiber-optic cable will run through Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, from where it will continue along the Indian Ocean bed to Australia.

"It is expected that these projects will significantly improve internet access in Africa, speed up the connection and reduce prices,"........

© Deutsche Welle