Guodong Group: Details of Chinese firm planning to set up Ksh38B Africa headquarters in Kenya

A Chinese digital infrastructure company, Guodong Group, plans to invest up to US$300 million (about Ksh38.8 billion) in Kenya over the next few years as it considers establishing its Africa headquarters in the country.

The proposed investment will target digital infrastructure, including telecommunications towers, smart cities, data centres, fibre networks, cloud infrastructure and green digital technologies.

Principal Secretary for the State Department for Investment Promotion Abubakar Hassan Abubakar disclosed the plans after hosting a Guodong Group delegation led by Kobe Hu, a senior partner and vice president of the company on Monday, August 17, 2026.

Hassan said the proposed investment fits into Kenya’s plans to expand digital connectivity through the Digital Superhighway programme.

“One of the core pillars of the BETA Agenda is the Digital Superhighway. We are committed to laying about 100,000 Kilometres of fibre optic cable across the entire Country,” Hassan said.

The government has set a target of deploying 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable as part of efforts to expand broadband access across the country.

The ICT Authority lists the 100,000-kilometre fibre network, 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and 1,450 Digital Village Smart Hubs and Studios among the key components of the Digital Superhighway project. The project began in November 2023.

Government data shows fibre connectivity increased from 8,900 kilometres in 2022 to 13,590 kilometres in 2025, leaving a substantial gap between the existing network and the 100,000-kilometre target.

Guodong’s proposed investment could therefore give the country another potential source of private capital and technical capacity for digital infrastructure.

Guodong expands digital footprint

The Chinese company describes itself as a telecommunications infrastructure operator focused on the development, construction, operation and leasing of communication towers.

It says it has more than 55,000 tower assets and operations across China’s 31 provinces.

Guodong has also expanded into digital technology, with its business covering cloud computing, data centres, local networks and other information technology services.

The company has been exploring opportunities in Africa as part of its overseas expansion. In July 2026, Guodong said it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Kazakhtelecom to develop communications infrastructure in Kazakhstan, showing its growing focus on markets outside China.

Kenya has also held earlier discussions with Guodong on digital infrastructure. In a separate engagement, ICT Authority chief executive Jessy Maruti met Guodong representatives led by Kobe Hu to discuss strengthening Kenya’s digital infrastructure and advancing the Digital Superhighway programme.

However, the latest announcement does not give details on how much of the proposed US$300 million investment will be committed initially, the specific projects to be financed or when Guodong will formally establish its Africa headquarters in Kenya.

The proposal comes as Kenya seeks to attract more private investment into broadband, data centres, cloud computing and other digital infrastructure needed to support the country’s growing digital economy.

Kenya’s draft National Broadband Strategy 2025–2030 identifies the expansion of national fibre infrastructure towards the 100,000-kilometre target as a key investment opportunity.