The first phase of the Plumtree-Victoria Falls biocapacity backbone upgrade project has been completed, an investment expected to transform the country’s role in regional internet traffic and telecommunications infrastructure.
The project, a partnership between Powertel Communications and Paratus Group, is being touted as a model for attracting investment into strategic state enterprises while unlocking the country’s geographical advantage at the centre of southern Africa’s digital routes.
Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF) head of energy and trading investments, Tinashe Yafele, said the project demonstrated how strategic partnerships can modernise critical infrastructure while creating commercial value.
Mutapa Investment Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund and a major shareholder in Powertel Communications, has been driving partnerships aimed at transforming state-owned enterprises into commercially sustainable entities.
Yafele said the Powertel-Paratus deal represented the type of investment model the fund seeks to replicate across its portfolio.
He said Powertel had managed to leverage its extensive fibre network while retaining ownership of a strategic national asset.
“At the same time, Paratus brings long-term demand, regional reach and technical capability. It is a partnership where both organisations create value while advancing Zimbabwe’s digital ambitions,” Yafele said.
He said the investment marked a turning point in Powertel’s evolution from being largely the telecommunications arm of Zesa Holdings into a regional digital infrastructure player.
- Go back to the drawing board
- Treasury floats ambitious multi-billion-dollar bond
- Mutapa Fund given mandate to revive parastatals
- More questions raised over Mutapa Investment Fund
Keep Reading
“The company is positioning itself not only as the telecommunications arm of ZESA, but as a regional digital infrastructure provider, supporting connectivity across southern Africa and contributing to the country’s emergence as a regional digital hub,” Yafele said.
He added that modern digital infrastructure had become central to economic growth and technological advancement.
“Investments such as this create the foundation for digital services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, financial inclusion, smart industries and improved public service delivery,” he said.
Paratus Group chief commercial officer Martin Cox said the project significantly enhances Zimbabwe’s telecommunications capacity and could place the country at the centre of regional digital connectivity.
“Today we have 800 gigabits between Plumtree and Bulawayo,” he said.
“In the next two months, that 800 gigabits of live capacity and the 14 terabits of underlying available capacity will be live up to Victoria Falls. This will connect Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.”
Cox said the upgraded network would eventually stretch through Harare and Mutare into Mozambique, creating multiple international connectivity routes.
He added that Zimbabwe’s location gives it a unique opportunity to become a key transit route for regional internet traffic.
According to Cox, the new fibre backbone will allow Zimbabwe to connect regional traffic to major global submarine cable systems, including Google’s Equiano cable on Africa’s west coast and Meta’s 2Africa cable on the east coast.
