The Second Stakeholder Consultative Workshop on Matching Investment in Digital Infrastructure for the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP) was held on Thursday, 28th August 2025. The session successfully brought together government leaders, private sector players, and international partners to finalize the groundbreaking Commercial Transaction Manual (CTM).
The workshop, held in Nairobi, provided detailed insights into the innovative multi-round reverse auction process designed to competitively disburse public funding. The process seeks to mobilize matching private capital to build critical digital infrastructure, bridge the digital divide, and position Kenya as a regional digital hub.
Opening the session, ICT Authority Director of Programs and Standards, Thomas Bwaley, highlighted the project’s central mission: bridging the persistent digital divide through collaborative investment frameworks that leverage private sector partnerships to expand fiber infrastructure and ensure inclusive connectivity for citizens, businesses, and government institutions.
This vision was further emphasized by ICT Authority Ag. CEO, Zilpher Owiti, who described KDEAP as a transformative engine for national development, youth employment, e-commerce growth, and regional integration. She also called for transparent engagement and open feedback from all stakeholders to ensure the project’s long-term sustainability.
Representing the World Bank, Lead Digital Specialist Tim Kelly underscored the financial and strategic weight of the initiative. He also introduced the first-of-its-kind multi-round reverse auction model. The competitive framework ensures that subsidies are allocated transparently and efficiently, maximizing the impact of public funds.
A key highlight of the workshop was a presentation by consultants from DETECON (Deutsche Telekom Consulting), who unveiled the finalized Commercial Transaction Manual (CTM). Built on principles of Open Access, technology neutrality, and transparency, the CTM outlines two procurement models:

Co-ownership and Matching Investment Model – where government and private operators co-invest in backbone and middle-mile fiber, with private partners managing construction, operation, and maintenance.
Pre-purchase of Internet Model – targeting last-mile connectivity to schools, government offices, and public institutions, where government guarantees long-term service contracts to encourage private network expansion into underserved areas.

The workshop also detailed the six-stage procurement process for co-ownership, which includes route validation, pre-qualification, technical proposal submissions, and the live multi-round reverse auction on a secure platform, followed by implementation and post-evaluation with strict accountability measures.
Participants reached a strong agreement that collaboration and active stakeholder engagement remain critical to the project’s success. Immediate next steps include; finalizing the CTM with stakeholder feedback, prioritizing fiber routes for the first auction, and conducting training sessions on the electronic auction platform.
As the workshop concluded, it marked a shift from planning to execution. KDEAP is set to accelerate Kenya’s digital transformation, empower citizens, and strengthen the country’s digital economy.