Partners launch Kenya's first fully protected coastal submarine cable system to boost digital connectivity and regional trade.
TL;DR
The LuLu Coastal Cable System is a 500-kilometre submarine and terrestrial network connecting Mombasa to Lamu across five strategic coastal landing points.
The cable system will serve as the digital backbone for the $3 billion Vipingo Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) to attract data centers, cloud providers, and fintechs.
Intelligence
Co-developed by INDOI, Blue Trade Investments, ARISE IIP, AfriTrade, and Kingdom Bank, the project is scheduled to go live in Q2 2028.
By establishing a dedicated coastal path landing directly inside Vipingo SEZ, the LuLu cable solves a critical infrastructure gap for developers wanting to set up outside Nairobi's congested hub.
For East African tech founders, this offers a viable alternative for hosting and cloud services backed by localized tax incentives.
It also reduces reliance on long terrestrial backhauls to Mombasa's primary landing stations, lowering latency and improving redundancy along the EAC northern transport corridor.
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