Google commits to building subsea cable hub in South Africa, one of four across Africa

Google has announced a new round of investments in Africa, reaffirming nearly two decades of commitment to the continent’s digital transformation. The search company has already invested billions in fibre optic infrastructure in East and West Africa, and is doubling down on that investment with various subsea cable hubs and investment in education through university grants and discounted Gemini programs.

Google goes South

Google is building on its Africa Connect infrastructure program, which established fibre optic projects like the Equiano cable, which starts in Portugal, runs through West Africa, and to South Africa. On the other side of the continent, we have Umoja, which goes from Kenya to SA to Australia, the latter part of which became the first fibre optic route connecting the two continents.

Beyond the eastern and western routes, SA already hosts the Google Cloud region in Johannesburg, and benefits directly from the Equiano cable, which is projected to boost the nation’s real GDP by $5.8 billion (about R100.6 billion) this year alone.

Google is strengthening these initiatives with plans to construct four strategic subsea cable hubs across the northern, western, eastern, and southern regions of the continent. The search company did not give any further details, such as specific locations and functions.

In education, Google will provide free one-year subscriptions to its Google AI Pro plan to eligible university students locally and in seven other African countries. The subscription lets students access Gemini 2.5 Pro and Google’s Deep Research tool.

Google boasts that it has already trained millions of Africans in digital skills, and plans to reach an additional three million students, youngsters, and teachers by 2030. Over the past four years, the company has also directed $17 million in funding and resources to African universities and research institutions, with a further $9 million planned. Much of this funding will go towards AI research, which begs the question: Is Africa poised for an AI-boosted tech explosion? Or is it being set up to be the world’s largest and cheapest AI sweatshop? Only time will tell.