James Turuthi, chairman at Frontier Optical Networks emphasised the urgency of collaboration and engaging in partnerships across the continent to continue fast-paced innovation.
Kenya alone is already succeeding as an East African digital hub, with rising mobile adoption, subsea cable connections and a potential for renewable energy that could help to power future-leading technologies. Yet, there is still much progress to be made from the starting point: ensuring the development of robust digital infrastructure.
“The government of Kenya has over the years has worked and continues to work with the private sector,” Turuthi said. “Kenya is one of the most developed digital ecosystems, home to several major information centres and one of the fastest-growing internet exchanges. This includes industry infrastructure that serves more than just Kenya – it serves the entire region.
“The country is digitally connected, with most services provided online to make it easy for businesses to connect and access services.”
Notably, the country is committed to the Kenya Digital Superhighway Project to establish a comprehensive fibre optic infrastructure, reduce the cost of internet connectivity and enhance digital services, while increasing access to health and financial services.
“The project targets connecting 1.2 million households to fibre, installing connectivity to 5,000 hospitals and establishing 1,450 digital hubs,” Turuthi said. “This includes studios and the establishment of Kenya as a key gateway for internet traffic between Africa and other continents through submarine cables.
“There are six submarine cables landing in Kenya, connecting the country and the region to the rest of the world, including major global hubs.”
Turuthi also touched on how technology has the power to transform society and improve the lives of citizens in Kenya and throughout the rest of the continent.
“Digital services have become fundamental to government operations and business processes,” he said. “In our country, we see the social impact of technology in sectors like mobile money, which has created a strong foundation for digital financial inclusion.”
Kenya has also made great progress on regulations, which includes establishing a strong framework for digital development.
“We are finalising key regulations and have developed a new national broadband strategy,” Turuthi explained, adding: “For Africa’s digital future to succeed, there is a need for government to ensure the right policies and supporting recognitions are in place in every country. This will encourage collaboration across sectors and regions, while expanding broadband access and digital literacy.
“We support digital infrastructure investment as critical for the continent’s growth. I challenge participants [at ITW] to come up with actionable roadmaps for Africa for digital growth and to collaborate to secure Africa’s place in the digital economy.”
ITW Africa this year comes at a pivotal moment for the African continent. Not only are businesses grappling with the demands of the AI race and other digital services, but they are also looking at how they can innovate at scale. This, said Silvia Peneva, managing director at ITW and the Global Leaders Forum (GLF), is how businesses can make progress together.
“Africa already has the fundamentals to succeed in this race,” she said ahead of the keynote address. We’re meeting at a pivotal moment for the continent’s digital future – the question is, how do we go faster together?”
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ITW Africa 2026
Africa’s leading connectivity event, uniting key leaders and decision-makers across the entire value chain. Whether you’re involved in carriers, data centres, content, cloud, finance, satellite, or the vendor community, ITW Africa is the event to attend.
