The Gambia Telecommunications Company Ltd (GAMTEL) has entered a US$50 million Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with SYSROAD SA HOLDING to upgrade, expand, and modernise the country’s national broadband and telecommunications infrastructure. The signing ceremony, held at the Bakadaji Hotel in Bijilo, marks a significant milestone in The Gambia’s digital transformation and represents one of the largest network investments in GAMTEL’s history.
The partnership is focused on strengthening national digital infrastructure and advancing The Gambia’s digital sovereignty. The project will modernise the national internet backbone, increasing capacity from 40Gbps to 800Gbps, a nearly 20-fold expansion.s This upgrade is designed to eliminate connectivity bottlenecks and provide resilient, high-performance infrastructure to support a modern, competitive digital economy.
The initiative is the result of a strategic policy shift begun in 2023 to address critical gaps in the country’s digital infrastructure. Beyond routine maintenance, the partnership represents a full overhaul of the national network, delivering massive scalability, nationwide broadband expansion, and improved operational efficiency for small and medium enterprises, startups, local content creators, and enterprise users.
The upgraded infrastructure is expected to support socio-economic development by enabling digital financial services, secure e-commerce, e-learning, telemedicine, and digital government services. The project also aims to strengthen The Gambia’s appeal as a destination for foreign direct investment and regional integration in the digital economy.
The GAMTEL–SYSROAD partnership is positioned as a model of African collaboration, leveraging African expertise to deliver world-class infrastructure with professionalism, transparency, and excellence. The project has received institutional support from the President of The Gambia, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the State-Owned Enterprises Commission, the Public Utility and Regulatory Authority, and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.
The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from GAMTEL and GAMCEL, representatives from government ministries and regulators, the PPP technical team, and members of GAMTEL’s Board of Directors. The partnership establishes a strategic foundation for The Gambia’s digital sovereignty, economic growth, and role in Africa’s evolving digital landscape.
The project will upgrade the core network from 40Gbps to 800Gbps, a 1,900% increase in capacity, eliminating connectivity bottlenecks and providing resilient, high-performance infrastructure to support a competitive digital economy.
