Resilience is a critical link in West Africa’s Digital Economy

At the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026 in Porto, Portugal, one theme stood out across discussions involving infrastructure operators, regulators, financiers, and global institutions: resilience is no longer a technical concern—it is an economic one. For West Africa, this conversation is not theoretical. It is immediate and consequential. The region, with a combined GDP of over $800 billion, is undergoing rapid digital transformation. Its digital economy—spanning fintech, e-commerce, digital services, and connectivity—has been estimated to contribute between $100 billion and $150 billion in economic activity annually, with strong growth prospects. Across the region, digital platforms are helping to overcome long-standing infrastructure constraints, boost productivity, attract investment, and create jobs. But this transformation rests on a fragile foundation. In March 2024, a series of submarine cable disruptions along the West African coast exposed a critical vulnerability at the heart of this emerging digital economy. For several hours—and in some cases days—connectivity was degraded across multiple countries. Banking systems slowed, digital platforms experienced outages, and businesses reliant on cloud infrastructure faced significant operational disruption. The incident was not unprecedented. According to the International Cable Protection Committee, most submarine cable faults globally result from fishing activity, anchoring, or natural seabed movement. What made the West African disruption different was its scale. Multiple cables serving the region were affected simultaneously, sharply reducing available bandwidth and overwhelming existing redundancy.

West Africa is served by several major international systems, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS), Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), and MainOne Cable. These systems collectively provide significant international capacity. Yet their routing patterns and landing configurations meant that a single disruption could affect multiple systems at once. In the aftermath, internet traffic in affected countries fell sharply—by some estimates, more than 50 percent—while latency increased and service quality deteriorated. Restoration timelines varied, but in some cases took several days, highlighting both physical repair constraints and administrative bottlenecks. For policymakers and investors, the implications are clear. Submarine cables are not simply telecommunications infrastructure. They are foundational to economic activity.

More than 95 percent of global internet traffic travels through submarine cables—a statistic consistently emphasised by the International Telecommunication Union. In West Africa, where digital adoption is accelerating rapidly, the reliability of these systems is directly linked to economic performance. Outages translate into lost transactions, reduced productivity, and weakened investor confidence. At the Porto Summit, I reflected that this discussion is particularly important for West Africa, where the digital economy is emerging as a powerful driver of growth—helping to overcome physical infrastructure gaps while creating new pathways for inclusion and opportunity. But without resilient connectivity, that momentum cannot be sustained. Historically, resilience has been treated as a secondary consideration—something addressed after deployment rather than embedded at the point of investment. That approach is no longer tenable.

Across global discussions, including those involving the World Bank, there is growing recognition that digital infrastructure must be approached through the lens of long-term risk and sustainability. Resilience shapes risk premiums, insurance costs, and financing decisions. Where it is poorly defined, it is treated as an additional cost. Where it is clearly linked to reduced downtime and operational continuity, it becomes a value proposition—one that can unlock capital. For underserved regions, this distinction is critical.

The challenge is not simply to build more cables but to build systems that are financeable, durable, and regionally coherent. The 2024 disruptions also exposed a structural mismatch. Submarine cable networks are regional in operation, but governance remains largely national. Permitting processes differ. Emergency response procedures are not harmonised. Cable protection regimes vary in enforcement. This fragmentation introduces risk. When outages occur, delays in customs clearance, port access, and inter-agency coordination can extend repair timelines. For investors, these uncertainties translate directly into a higher cost of capital.

Addressing this requires a shift in perspective. Submarine cable resilience must be treated as a regional public good, supported by coordinated policy frameworks. In West Africa, this has reinforced the importance of regulatory alignment through WATRA, which brings together telecommunications regulators from 16 member states. The focus is not centralisation, but coordination—ensuring that critical aspects of resilience are addressed consistently across jurisdictions.

· Streamlined and predictable landing and permitting processes

· Stronger cable protection frameworks aligned with international best practice

· Pre-agreed emergency protocols for repair operations

· Improved data sharing on outages and restoration timelines

These are not technical fixes. They are regulatory interventions with economic consequences.

Equally important is the need to embed resilience at the design stage of new investments. This means prioritising true route diversity, avoiding correlated risk, and aligning regulatory approvals with resilience objectives. West Africa’s experience is not unique. Similar vulnerabilities exist across emerging markets and small states. What is changing is the recognition that resilience is central to the economics of connectivity. For West Africa, the stakes are particularly high. The region’s digital economy is expanding rapidly, driven by fintech, mobile broadband, and digital entrepreneurship. These sectors depend on infrastructure that remains largely invisible—until it fails.

Submarine cable repairs in the region are inherently costly. A single repair is typically estimated at around $1.5–2 million, with vessel mobilisation from distant bases such as Cape Town accounting for a significant share of the expense. In more complex cases—particularly where multiple cables are affected—costs can rise to as much as $8 million. Limited availability of specialised repair vessels in Africa further compounds the challenge, contributing to longer restoration timelines compared to global benchmarks.