Meta has completed and activated the core 2Africa subsea cable system, marking a major milestone in global telecommunications and a transformative step for connectivity across Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe.
The project, developed in partnership with Bayobab (MTN Group), Orange, center3, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone Group and WIOCC, now stands as the world’s longest open-access subsea cable and the first to link East and West Africa in a continuous loop. Over the coming decade, it is expected to serve more than 3 billion people, including Africa’s 1.4 billion residents.
The activation of 2Africa represents one of the most significant upgrades to Africa’s digital infrastructure to date. Meta says the system delivers more subsea capacity than all existing African cables combined, enabling faster, more reliable, and more affordable broadband access.
The cable is engineered to support consumers, enterprises, cloud platforms, and AI-driven services, providing the technological foundation for the next era of digital transformation across the region.
“The completion of 2Africa is a monumental achievement—not just for Meta, but for the entire continent,” said Kojo Boakye, Vice President for Public Policy (Africa, Middle East & Türkiye) at Meta. “This project shows what’s possible when vision and collaboration come together to unlock new opportunities for millions.”
Meta adds that the project reflects its long-term investment in Africa’s digital economy, as cloud computing and AI adoption continue to accelerate among governments and businesses.
The 2Africa consortium brings together private- and public-sector expertise from 33 countries, demonstrating the scale of collaboration required to advance digital inclusion and strengthen economic competitiveness.
With the system now live, users across Africa are expected to benefit from improved internet speeds, stronger network reliability, wider access to online services and enhanced support for cloud and AI applications. These advancements are also expected to stimulate innovation, raise productivity, and boost cross-border digital trade.
Ministers and regulators from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Kenya and Nigeria were among those in attendance at the launch event.
“We built 2Africa to be open by design so more providers can connect and more people can benefit,” said Alex-Handrah Aime, Vice President, Network Investments at Meta. “It’s engineered for scale, reliability and to power the next wave of cloud and AI experiences.”
The system further strengthens Nigeria’s position as a regional connectivity hub. In February, Bayobab and MTN Nigeria confirmed the cable’s landing at Mopo-Onibeju, Lekki, Lagos.
Nigeria now hosts several major subsea cables, including MainOne, SAT-3, Glo-2, ACE, WACS, Equiano and NCSCS — infrastructure that continues to link the country to global internet backbones and power its expanding digital economy.
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