The digital revolution offers huge opportunities for Africa. To fully tap into these opportunities, African countries have decided to collaborate with one another.

The Tanzanian Minister for Information, Communication, and ICT, Nape Moses Nnauye, and Malawian Minister for Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on digital communication and cooperation in Lilongwe, Malawi, on July 7. The deal should improve data accessibility in Malawi by connecting it to submarine cables through non-commercial routes.

Speaking after signing the agreement, the Malawian Minister of Information noted that cooperation with Tanzania in the digital sector will notably help Malawi have country-to-country connectivity, reducing data transmission costs.

"Currently, we are connected to Tanzania and other countries via provider cables, but by connecting directly via a state-to-state infrastructure, in this case, the Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM) and the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL), we will reduce the cost of operating bandwidth in the country, thereby lowering the overall cost of data for consumers in the country," he said.

The MoU is the fruit of bilateral talks held during a working visit in Malawi of Samia Suluhu Hassan, Tanzania’s leader.

The deal, for Malawi, aligns with its 2021-2026 digital economy strategy aiming to extend affordable internet to 65% of the country. For Tanzania, it adds to a series of partnerships recently signed by the Tanzanian government for the development of the internet in the country. The goal is to connect nearly 80% of the population to the Internet and to increase the usage of broadband from 45% to 80% by 2025.

According to Nape Moses Nnauye, the agreement will enable both countries to effectively transform digital spaces, which are now a catalyst for development in all sectors globally.

Samira Njoya