Seacom

What Seacom does

Seacom is a privately held pan-African digital infrastructure provider founded in 2009, operating Africa's first privately-owned submarine cable system. The company owns and operates a network comprising 35,000 km of terrestrial fibre, six subsea cable systems, and 38 international Points of Presence spanning 17 African countries with physical offices in 8 markets. Its portfolio is structured in two layers: a Digital Infrastructure tier offering wholesale and carrier-grade services (Carrier Ethernet, IP Transit, Dark Fibre, Private Line, Colocation, Access Entries, Duct Infrastructure, and PeeringReach), and a Digital Services tier providing enterprise cloud (IaaS via PureStorage, Microsoft 365, DRaaS via Redstor), cyber security, business communications, smart networking (SD-WAN, SASE), and enterprise connectivity. The company's technology backbone is built on DWDM with interfaces supporting 1GE to 400GE, supplemented by proprietary ASON (Automated Switched Optical Network) capability enabling sub-50-millisecond fault recovery.

Seacom monetizes primarily through recurring annual subscriptions on capacity-based contracts, with enterprise field sales teams across 8 countries, a formal Partner Programme for wholesale and resale, and consultation-based inside sales. Its customer base of 4,000+ enterprises includes hyperscalers (Google, Amazon, Netflix), major African carriers (MTN, Vodacom, Airtel), financial institutions (Standard Bank), and large enterprise clients. Ownership is anchored by long-term institutional investors including Remgro, Sanlam, Solcon Capital, IPS (Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development), and Jubilee Holdings (18.8% stake since March 2022), with the IFC providing a $207 million debt facility in June 2023 to fund infrastructure modernization.

The company is actively executing a multi-year capex-led expansion, having announced Seacom 2.0 — a 25,000-km AI-ready subsea cable with 48 fiber pairs connecting Africa to Asia and Europe — and new high-capacity terrestrial corridors (Nairobi-Kampala, 1 Tb/s scalable to 30 Tb/s). Strategic positioning is shifting from pure-play connectivity toward integrated digital services, with a 2025 brand refresh at AfricaCom and concurrent launches of PeeringReach (IXP extension) and LEO satellite connectivity (via Q-KON partnership).

Name

Seacom

Legal name

Seacom, Ltd

Website

https://seacom.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Seacom is a pan-African digital infrastructure provider operating 35,000 km of fibre, six subsea cables, and 38 PoPs across 17 countries, serving 4,000+ enterprises, carriers, and hyperscalers with wholesale connectivity and managed digital services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Infrastructure

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Subsea Cable System Owners & Consortia (Wet Plant Investment) (HDAIALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Subsea Capacity Wholesale (IRUs, leased capacity, backhaul to landing stations) (HDAIAEAI), Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI), Subsea & Terrestrial Backhaul to Data Centers and Cloud On-Ramps (IX/DC Interconnect) (HDAIALAJ)

Keywords

• Subsea cable systems
• Terrestrial fibre networks
• Managed network services
• Enterprise connectivity
• Carrier-grade infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Ebène

HQ country

Mauritius

HQ region

Africa

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Digital Infrastructure Services: Wholesale and carrier connectivity services including Carrier Ethernet, IP Transit, Dark Fibre, Private Line, Access Entries, Colocation, and Duct Infrastructure. Revenue generated from recurring service fees based on capacity and connectivity needs.
2. Digital Services: Cloud services (IaaS, SaaS via Microsoft 365, DRaaS, Cloud Colocation), Cyber Security (managed firewalls, DDoS mitigation), Business Communications (hosted voice, UCaaS, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, CCaaS), Smart Networking (SD-WAN, Wi-Fi-as-a-Service, MPLS, LAN Management, SASE), and Enterprise Connectivity (MPLS VPN, VPN, DIA).
3. Partner Programme: Wholesale and resale arrangements where partners leverage Seacom's 35,000 km backbone to expand their market reach without heavy overheads, generating revenue through capacity leasing and service reselling.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Seacom owns and operates Africa's first privately-owned subsea cable system and 35,000 km of pan-African terrestrial fibre, delivering wholesale and enterprise connectivity services (Carrier Ethernet, IP Transit, Dark Fibre, Private Line, Access Entries, Colocation, Duct Infrastructure, PeeringReach) to carriers, ISPs, service providers and large enterprises across 17 countries. On top of this backbone, Seacom sells digital services including Cloud (IaaS/SaaS/DRaaS), Cyber Security (FWaaS, DDoS mitigation), Business Communications (hosted voice, UCaaS, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing), Smart Networking (SD-WAN, SASE, MPLS) and Enterprise Connectivity (MPLS VPN, DIA), with a formal Partner Programme for wholesale and resale.

Product overview

Seacom operates a two-tier portfolio built on Africa's original digital backbone. The Digital Infrastructure layer provides wholesale and carrier-grade connectivity services across 35,000 km of subsea and terrestrial fibre, six submarine cable systems, and 38 network hubs spanning 17 African countries. This core infrastructure encompasses Carrier Ethernet, IP Transit, Dark Fibre, Private Line, Access Entries, Colocation, Duct Infrastructure, and PeeringReach for IXP connectivity. Above this, the Digital Services layer enables enterprises to move beyond basic connectivity with Cloud Services (IaaS via PureStorage, SaaS via Microsoft 365, DRaaS via Redstor), Cyber Security (FWaaS, DDoS mitigation), Business Communications (with Microsoft Teams Direct Routing), Smart Networking (SD-WAN, SASE, private MPLS), Enterprise Connectivity (MPLS VPN, DIA), and a Partner Programme for wholesale/resale. Seacom also announced Seacom 2.0, an AI-ready subsea cable system, and LEO Satellite Connectivity via Q-KON partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PeeringReach: A cost-effective Layer 2 connectivity solution that extends South Africa's Internet Exchange (IXP) fabric directly into local municipalities and regional hubs, providing access to JINX, CINX, DINX and NAPAfrica.

Products and services

• Carrier Ethernet Scalable point-to-point or multipoint Ethernet connections for carriers, ISPs and service providers expanding across Africa on Seacom's 35,000 km fibre network.
• IP Transit Carrier-grade internet connectivity providing direct access to Tier-1 global networks and low-latency routes into Africa, Europe and Asia, monitored 24/7 by Seacom's NOC.
• Dark Fibre Unlit fibre access allowing customers to design, light and manage their own network on Seacom's pan-African backbone spanning 17 countries.
• Private Line Dedicated, secure point-to-point connections across Africa and into Europe, isolated from the public internet for mission-critical applications.
• Access Entries Direct, open-access interconnection at Seacom's subsea cable landing stations and backbone sites for carriers, ISPs and service providers.
• Colocation SLA-backed hosting facilities at strategic landing stations, repeater sites and mast locations with redundant power, cooling and direct backbone interconnection.
• Duct Infrastructure Leasing of existing subsea and terrestrial ducts across Africa enabling faster fibre deployment without trenching or construction costs.
• PeeringReach Cost-effective Layer 2 connectivity that extends South Africa's IXP fabric (JINX, CINX, DINX, NAPAfrica) directly into local municipalities and regional hubs via Seacom's national long-distance fibre backbone.
• Cloud Services On-demand cloud solutions including IaaS storage via PureStorage, SaaS via Microsoft 365, cloud colocation and DRaaS via Redstor for enterprise customers.
• Cyber Security Managed security services including Firewall-as-a-Service, DDoS mitigation and backup/disaster recovery (DRaaS) for enterprise protection.
• Business Communications Enterprise voice, video and collaboration tools including hosted voice/SIP trunking, UCaaS, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing and contact centre (CCaaS) solutions.
• Smart Networking Intelligent network solutions including SD-WAN, Wi-Fi-as-a-Service, private MPLS, LAN management, network performance monitoring and SASE for adaptive security.
• Enterprise Connectivity Site connectivity solutions including private MPLS VPNs, secure remote access VPNs and dedicated internet access (DIA) for multi-site enterprises.
• Partner Programme Wholesale and white-label resale partnership models for service providers, carriers and resellers to expand their product portfolio with Seacom's connectivity, cloud, security and communications infrastructure.
• Seacom 2.0 Subsea Cable AI-ready next-generation subsea cable system spanning 25,000 km with 48 fiber pairs, connecting Singapore to South Africa via eastern Africa and the Red Sea corridor, and to Marseilles via a loop around South Africa to Angola.
• Nairobi-Kampala Terrestrial Network Route New terrestrial fibre route connecting Kenya and Uganda with initial capacity of 1 Tb/s scalable to 30 Tb/s, dual border crossings for resilience, and automated switching for fault recovery.
• LEO Satellite Connectivity Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity services delivered in partnership with Q-KON, extending Seacom's connectivity portfolio to locations not reachable by terrestrial fibre.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced international bandwidth costs by up to 85% since 2009
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SENTECHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2025Seacom and SENTECH signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to partner on turbocharging technology SMMEs in South Africa. The partnership aims to support small, medium and micro enterprises in the technology sector through collaborative initiatives.
• Q-KONcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2025Seacom partnered with Q-KON to enhance Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity services in Africa. The collaboration expands Seacom's connectivity portfolio by offering satellite services (available in South Africa since early 2024) as part of broader connectivity solutions, targeting areas where terrestrial fibre is not available.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Liquid Intelligent Technologies: Liquid operates one of the largest independent pan-African fibre networks and subsea capacity across Eastern, Southern and Central Africa, directly overlapping Seacom's wholesale and enterprise connectivity footprint. Both compete for carrier Ethernet, IP transit, and enterprise digital services across the same 15+ African markets.
• WIOCC: WIOCC is a leading African wholesale carrier built on the EASSy, WACS and related subsea systems, serving carriers and ISPs across the continent. It is a direct peer to Seacom in subsea wholesale capacity, IP transit and carrier Ethernet services.
• MainOne (Equinix): MainOne operates the MainOne subsea cable system along West Africa's coast and a growing terrestrial footprint, now under Equinix. It competes with Seacom in subsea capacity on Africa's west coast and increasingly in cross-African enterprise connectivity.
• Angola Cables: Angola Cables owns and operates the SACS and WACS subsea systems and provides wholesale capacity across the South Atlantic and into African markets. It is a direct subsea wholesale peer to Seacom, particularly for Southern African and trans-Atlantic traffic.

Broad incumbents

• MTN GlobalConnect: MTN GlobalConnect is the wholesale and infrastructure arm of MTN Group, operating fibre, subsea capacity (2Africa) and enterprise services across Africa. As both a major Seacom customer and a growing competitor in carrier and enterprise services, it is a broad incumbent peer.
• Telkom South Africa: Telkom operates terrestrial fibre, subsea cable interests (SAFE, SAT-3/WASC) and enterprise connectivity services in South Africa and select African markets. It is a broader incumbent peer competing with Seacom across South African enterprise and wholesale connectivity.
• Bayobab (formerly MTN GlobalConnect): Bayobab, MTN's fibre and wholesale infrastructure business, operates pan-African fibre and subsea capacity including interests in 2Africa. It directly competes with Seacom in wholesale capacity and enterprise connectivity across Africa.
• PCCW Global: PCCW Global operates a global subsea and IP network providing wholesale capacity, IP transit and managed services into Africa and Asia. It overlaps with Seacom on international IP transit, subsea capacity resale and enterprise services for African carriers and multinationals.
• Lumen Technologies: Lumen (formerly CenturyLink) operates a global fibre and subsea network providing IP transit, wavelength, and managed services into African markets. It is a broad incumbent peer in wholesale capacity and enterprise network services for African carriers and multinationals.

Regional players

• Internet Solutions (Dimension Data / NTT): Internet Solutions, now part of NTT Data, provides enterprise connectivity, cloud and managed services primarily in South Africa and select African markets. It overlaps with Seacom's enterprise digital services portfolio across South Africa and East Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seacom-ltd
• Xx.com/Seacom
• Facebookfacebook.com/Seacom

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A7 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Seacom