The proposed cable is meant to bring speedy and cheap bandwidth to at least 23 African nations. It will run between South Africa and Sudan with six landing points along the way.
"We have approved $150 million and as soon as the consortium gets together with the necessary legal documents we will go ahead to provide the financing," AFDB President Donald Kaberuka told Reuters. The project has been delayed for years because of squabbling between officials of the nations involved.
Disagreements have centred around financing and access to the cable and some countries such as Kenya have launched separate initiatives. Speaking on the sidelines of the Connect Africa conference on expanding telecommunication services on the continent, Kaberuka said Africa's mobile phone growth has shown foreign investors that the continent is a viable business destination.