This archive report was first published on 14 December 2019.
On a rare occasion, the story behind a major achievement is as fascinating as the achievement itself. The completion of Econet Wireless' fibre optic cable project from Cape Town to Cairo is one such story.
At the Kusi Ideas Festival in Kigali, Rwanda, last Sunday, Zimbabwean billionaire and Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa shared the story of how his company achieved this feat. The event brought together African leaders, including Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.
According to Masiyiwa, the project's success was largely due to the support of African leaders. He revealed that President Kagame, who was then the African Union chairperson, played a crucial role in facilitating the project's progress. Kagame made calls to other African leaders along the path of the cable, paving the way for Econet Wireless to complete the project.
When Mahamat took over as AU Commission chair, he asked Masiyiwa about expanding the project to West Africa. Masiyiwa shared that they wanted to lay fibre from Port Sudan, through to Chad, and on to Nigeria. Mahamat offered to help, and Econet Wireless was able to build the cable until it got stuck in Cameroon.
With the help of Cameroonian economist and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, Econet Wireless was able to overcome the hurdle in Cameroon. The project's progress accelerated when Tshisekedi became president in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that had always been a dream destination for many companies.
With the support of Kagame and Tshisekedi, Econet Wireless was able to lay fibre cable from Lubumbashi to Inga Dam and was just 37 kilometres away from the Angola border. Masiyiwa shared that they expect to be in the Angolan capital Luanda by February 2020.
When completed, the Econet network will connect 13 African countries with over 60,000 kilometres of fibre optic cabling. The project's success is a testament to the power of collaboration and leadership in achieving pan-African economic projects.
