West Africa Digital Economy at Risk as WATRA Warns of Submarine Cable Threats

The West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) has raised concerns over growing threats to West Africa’s fast-expanding digital economy, valued between $100 billion and $150 billion annually. The warning was delivered at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026 in Porto, Portugal, where regulators highlighted vulnerabilities in the region’s digital backbone.

WATRA Executive Secretary, Mr. Aliyu Aboki, noted that despite the region’s strong economic potential—supported by a combined GDP of over $800 billion—the digital transformation driving jobs, investment, and productivity is resting on fragile infrastructure. He stressed that submarine cable disruptions along the West African coastline remain a major risk to sustained growth.

According to Aboki, the 2024 submarine cable failures exposed how vulnerable the region is, as multiple cables were affected at the same time, reducing bandwidth and overwhelming backup systems. He explained that this kind of disruption reveals a deeper structural weakness in West Africa’s digital connectivity framework.

He further warned that resilience must no longer be treated as an afterthought in infrastructure development. Aboki said inconsistent national regulations, weak coordination during emergencies, and fragmented cable protection systems increase downtime and raise the cost of investment, discouraging capital inflows into the sector.

To address these challenges, WATRA is calling for stronger regional coordination across its 16 member states, including harmonised permitting processes, improved cable protection frameworks, and pre-agreed emergency response systems. Aboki emphasised that treating submarine cable resilience as a regional public good is essential to securing West Africa’s long-term digital and economic future.

source: This day