---
title: Smart Africa Alliance offers support to African fibre project - Developing Telecoms
description: The Smart Africa Alliance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with pan-African digital connectivity solutions company Bayobab and infrastructure investment platform Africa50 to support the fibre optic cable initiative Project East2West with regulatory and policy engagements.
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date: 2023-11-29T14:42:55Z
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The Smart Africa Alliance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with pan-African digital connectivity solutions company Bayobab and infrastructure investment platform Africa50 to support the fibre optic cable initiative Project East2West with regulatory and policy engagements.

The Smart Africa Alliance currently represents 39 member countries across Africa and is tasked with the agenda to drive and accelerate the digital transformation of the continent.

[As we reported at the time](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/optical-fixed-networks/14982-africa50-and-bayobab-in-partnership-to-develop-pan-african-terrestrial-fibre.html), Bayobab and Africa50 signed a partnership in May to develop Project East2West, a terrestrial fibre optic cable network connecting the eastern shores of Africa to those on the continent’s west.

This partnership, its supporters say, recognises the vital role of pan-African collaboration in constructing telecommunication highways, essential to meet surging demand and the need for affordable connectivity solutions in Africa.

It also underscores the imperative of bridging the digital divide by extending networks from Bayobab’s 16 subsea cable systems circled around Africa, connecting landlocked regions and creating more awareness of the initiative across the continent.

As the partners point out, enhanced terrestrial fibre connectivity directly contributes to economic growth, strengthening businesses, facilitating e-commerce, and granting broader access to educational resources, thereby propelling development.

This vision of Project East to West seamlessly aligns with the Smart Africa Alliance’s mission to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development and foster regional integration.

Demba Diallo, Managing Director and Head of Project Development, Africa50, says: “We believe that such transformational projects are key to creating a future where our youth are given opportunities to learn, share, create and play an active role in building resilient societies through innovation and new technologies. Additionally, projects such as this contribute directly to delivering on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”

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