• Kenya's Ministry of ICT and Infratel Italia are partnering to advance broadband expansion, 5G rollout, and innovative infrastructure development.

• Italy will contribute its SINFI infrastructure cadastre system to support coordinated planning, reduce redundant excavations, and enhance submarine fibre connectivity, public Wi-Fi, and national backbone mapping.

• The partnership addresses Kenya’s 48% gap in internet penetration and supports Smart City initiatives and inclusive digital growth under Italy’s Piano Mattei framework.

Kenya's Ministry of ICT recently held a strategic meeting with Infratel Italia, a telecommunication and infrastructure company, led by CEO Pietro Piccinetti, to explore collaboration in broadband expansion, digital superhighway development, and thoughtful infrastructure planning. This partnership, announced on December 2, is poised to significantly advance Kenya’s connectivity ambitions under its Digital Superhighway agenda.

A key focus of the collaboration is the large-scale deployment of fibre-optic infrastructure and the development of 5G rollout models. Italy brings valuable expertise to the table through its national infrastructure cadastre, known as SINFI—a sophisticated system for coordinated infrastructure planning that minimises redundant excavation and streamlines network deployment.

The partnership also aims to enhance submarine-fibre connectivity for Kenya’s islands and remote regions, building on the country’s existing foundation of six submarine cables and five licensed cable landing stations. Other priority areas include infrastructure mapping, national backbone planning, market-failure analysis to identify underserved regions, and the expansion of public Wi-Fi networks.

This collaboration is particularly timely, as it addresses Kenya’s persistent digital divide. Despite achieving a 48% internet penetration rate, the country still lags behind regional leaders such as Morocco (92.2%) and Egypt (81.9%). However, it outpaces neighbouring Tanzania (29.1%) and Uganda (28%), according to Statista data from February 2025.

In support of Kenya’s Smart City initiatives, the partnership will also explore opportunities under the Piano Mattei framework—Italy’s strategic plan for fostering sustainable development and technology transfer across Africa. This aligns with Kenya’s broader vision of inclusive digital transformation.

To formalise the collaboration, both parties agreed to begin work on a Kenya–Infratel Memorandum of Understanding. This will cover key areas, including connectivity infrastructure, national infrastructure mapping using the SINFI model, public Wi-Fi expansion, Smart City development, and technical capacity building.

Ultimately, the partnership seeks to deepen bilateral knowledge exchange and leverage Italian infrastructure expertise to accelerate Kenya’s digital transformation—ensuring that no Kenyan is left behind in the evolving digital economy.

Hikmatu Bilali