World Bank–supported engagements advance Ethiopia’s national and cross-border fibre connectivity

By:  Kanto Kai Okanta

Stakeholder engagements are underway in Addis Ababa to support Ethiopia’s national and cross-border fibre connectivity agenda under the World Bank-funded Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP).

The engagements bring together key public and private sector stakeholders to assess the current state of national and regional fibre infrastructure, with a focus on identifying gaps, bottlenecks and resilience challenges affecting network performance and reliability. Discussions are also examining missing links and points of failure within existing networks, with the aim of strengthening redundancy and improving overall infrastructure resilience.

A central component of the consultations is the enhancement of cross-border fibre connectivity with neighbouring countries to support regional digital integration and seamless data flows across Eastern Africa. Participants are also addressing the alignment of technical, regulatory and commercial frameworks required to enable sustainable investment in digital infrastructure.

The initiative is further exploring scalable approaches to expand connectivity in rural and underserved areas, including solutions that support education, public services and broader social inclusion. Stakeholders have underscored the importance of coordinated planning, infrastructure sharing and evidence-based decision-making in building resilient and inclusive digital networks.

Insights from the engagements will feed into the development of technical, economic and policy recommendations for the project. The next phase will focus on consolidating findings into actionable roadmaps and investment-ready solutions aligned with EARDIP objectives, aimed at strengthening Ethiopia’s role in regional digital integration.