All for Africa was founded by the principals of Seacom. Seacom is the first fiber optic cable to bring high-speed internet to East Africa. The 17,000 km fiber optic cable went live on Thursday July 23, 2009 connecting South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia,  Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda to India and Asia as well as Europe and the rest of the world.

“Today, is a historic day for Africa, and marks the dawn of a new era for communications between the continent and the rest of the world. Our tireless efforts of the past 24 months have come to fruition, and we are proud to be the first to provide affordable, high quality broadband capacity and experience to East African economies,” said Seacom CEO and All for Africa Board member Brian Herlihy.

The commissioning was marked with a live telecast by Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete in Dar es Salaam with the media in Kampala, Maputo, Johannesburg, London and Marseille. President Kikwete explained that, until now, East Africa was the largest stretch of unconnected coast. “No more satellites,” he enthused, referring to the expensive way in which Tanzania connected internationally, prior to the launch of Seacom.

The cable will increase Africa’s bandwidth by 1000%.  Seacom is discounting the cost of bandwidth by 85% from current satellite rates making the internet affordable to many Africans.  In addition, Seacom is providing nearly free capacity to universities, schools and research centers making distance learning practical and affordable.

Seacom, All for Africa and its additional founding partners Sithe Global and Global Alumina, develop and implement successful projects that fit the goal of  fostering a growth of the middle class across the continent.  These projects are unprecedented in scale, creating infrastructure, developing capacity and providing for long-term sustainable growth in both for profit and not for profit sectors.