Eastern Africa's digital projects agree to stop working country by country
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan met with the EAC, IGAD and the World Bank to link broadband, digital services and cybersecurity across borders.
Nairobi — Countries in Eastern Africa investing in broadband and digital government want their projects to connect across borders rather than stop at them, the East African Community said after a regional workshop in Nairobi from 22 to 24 September.
The meeting brought together Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, the EAC, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the World Bank, which funds national digital projects under the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP) and related programmes. Kenya is not a direct EARDIP beneficiary but runs aligned regional work through its World Bank-funded Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project.
Five priorities
1. Better connectivity, including cross-border broadband 2. More digital public infrastructure and services 3. Closer cybersecurity cooperation 4. Easier cross-border digital trade and e-commerce 5. Tighter coordination between countries and regional bodies
Participants said the region must move beyond fragmented national approaches to seamless connectivity, services that work together and trusted digital systems across borders. The aim, the EAC says, is an Eastern Africa where citizens, businesses and governments can use secure digital services and take part in regional markets.
Source: East African Community, 23 September 2026.
