The South African government is stepping up initiatives to accelerate the adoption of broadband Internet as part of its digital transformation ambitions. It is supported in its efforts by a number of key international partners.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and South African investment bank Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) recently committed to investing a total of $49.2 million in the Eastern Cape fibre project piloted by Liquid Intelligent Technologies. Each of the two parties will invest 450 million rand ($24.6 million).  

"Not only will this investment from RMB and IFC help fund the expansion of our fibre backbone network in the Eastern Cape, but it will also help us upskill more South Africans and create employment. We believe this collaboration sets a new benchmark for the financing and development of digital infrastructure in South Africa," said Hardy Pemhiwa (photo, center), Group Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Intelligent Technologies.

The funding granted to Liquid Intelligent is part of the three companies' collective commitment to advancing broadband connectivity in South Africa in general, and particularly in Eastern Cape, one of the country's least connected regions.

According to statistics quoted by Liquid, only 65% of households in the Eastern Cape have access to the Internet. What's more, only 5% of the province's households have Internet access from home, which is twice as low as the South African average, where 10% of the total population has Internet access from home.

Ultimately, the project will reduce the digital divide in the Eastern Cape and extend Internet access to underserved areas. The aim is to support the South African government's National Development Plan to achieve 100% broadband coverage in the country by 2030.

Samira Njoya