Africa makes up nearly 20% of the world's population but holds less than 1% of global data centre capacity. That is the stark gap the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is now stepping in to address — with serious money behind it.
The DFC has committed to mobilising up to $400 million in private capital to expand digital infrastructure across more than 30 African countries, following what the agency describes as its largest equity investment to date in the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC). The funding will back fibre networks, subsea cable systems and data centre capacity, with the aim of improving internet connectivity for businesses, households and entrepreneurs continent-wide.
Jim Kelly, Vice President for the Office of Global Business Development at the DFC, spoke at a media briefing about the agency's strategy. He said the idea is to use public capital as a lever to pull in private financing for infrastructure projects that commercial lenders might otherwise pass on.
"Our investment will mobilize up to 400 million in private capital during its investment period," Kelly said.
Closing the Connectivity Gap
Kelly also pointed to a troubling statistic on internet access: based on figures from recent years, fewer than 40% of Africans were actively using the internet. That is not just a social problem — it is an economic one. Limited connectivity restricts businesses from accessing cloud computing, digital financial platforms and other tools that are now standard in competitive markets.
The WIOCC investment is designed to help stitch together international networks, fibre backbone infrastructure and last-mile broadband services. Getting that last-mile connection right is often where infrastructure projects fail, and Kelly said the DFC's involvement with WIOCC directly targets that weak link. This kind of investment in Africa's tech backbone is increasingly seen as a prerequisite for the continent's broader digital economy ambitions.
Not a Competitor to Private Capital
Kelly was careful to frame the DFC's role as complementary, not competitive. The agency brings tools to the table that commercial lenders typically cannot — or will not — offer, including direct loans, equity investments, guarantees and political risk insurance. It can also extend loan tenors of up to 25 years, giving infrastructure projects the runway they need to generate returns.
"We are not here to compete with private capital. Our role is to really complement what private capital can do and not to crowd out commercial investors," Kelly said.
The DFC expects the WIOCC investment to act as a catalyst — drawing in additional financing from commercial lenders and extending the total pool of funding available for digital infrastructure development across the continent.
Beyond Telecoms: Jobs and Entrepreneurship
Kelly made the case that reliable digital infrastructure creates ripple effects well beyond the telecoms sector. Better connectivity helps businesses run more efficiently, supports entrepreneurship and opens up employment opportunities — especially in markets where unreliable internet has long been a ceiling on growth.
With African governments and development partners increasingly racing to close infrastructure gaps, the DFC's $400 million push signals that Washington sees digital connectivity as a strategic priority — and that the gap between Africa's population share and its share of global digital infrastructure will not close without deliberate, long-term intervention.