The alliance gives operators, investors and governments end-to-end regulatory support across Kenya and the wider region, as demand for satellite, subsea cable and data centre infrastructure accelerates.
Access Partnership, the frontier consultancy getting innovation into market faster across technology, AI, space and health, and AfriTrade Consulting Group, the Nairobi-based advisory firm that led the regulatory and commercial groundwork for Kenya’s LuLu coastal cable system, have formed an alliance to help companies, investors and governments license and operate new space, connectivity and digital infrastructure across East Africa.
The alliance will initially focus on satellite and telecoms licensing, satellite gateways and ground stations, subsea cable landings and data centre approvals, expanding into AI governance, digital government and wider market entry as the region's needs develop.
Kenya is set to add two new international subsea cables before 2027, a 500-kilometre protected coastal cable between Mombasa and Lamu is planned for 2028, direct-to-device satellite services are arriving, and a US$1.5 billion AI data centre has been proposed for Mombasa. Every one of these projects depends on licences, spectrum, landing rights and approvals, and securing them is often the slowest and least predictable part of getting infrastructure into service.
The alliance is designed to close that gap. It pairs Access Partnership’s global specialists in space strategy, spectrum policy, satellite licensing and economic advisory with AfriTrade’s relationships, regulatory expertise and delivery record in Kenya and the wider East African region, supported by its sister law firm S&S Advocates. Clients work with one team that can take a project from strategy, through licensing and approvals, to licensed operation.
Dr Caroline Saroni, Chief Executive Officer, AfriTrade Consulting Group, said: “East Africa is becoming one of the world’s most important digital gateways, by sea and by sky. Investors and operators need partners who understand both the global technology landscape and the realities on the ground. With Access Partnership, we can offer both, and help bring new connectivity to the region faster.”
Andy Robb, Chief Space Officer, Access Partnership, said: “East Africa has the geography, the demand and the policy ambition to become one of the most important frontier technology markets of the next decade. What operators and investors need is a partner who can take them from strategy to licensed operation without losing a year in between. AfriTrade knows how things actually get done in Kenya and across the region. Together we can get new satellite, connectivity and digital infrastructure into market faster, and make sure the benefits land locally.”
Access Partnership has advised satellite operators, governments and investors on market access and licensing for 27 years, and its space team works across every stage of the sector from national space strategy to spectrum and landing rights. Its research for the Southern African Development Community found that non-geostationary satellite systems could unlock up to US$16.9 billion a year in economic benefits through improved internet coverage and use. In August 2026 the firm added Dr Sherif Sedky, former Chief Executive of the Egyptian Space Agency and former Chair of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, to its network as Senior Advisor.
AfriTrade Consulting Group has structured four of Kenya's Special Economic Zones: Vipingo Special Economic Zone, Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone, Naivasha Special Economic Zone and Vistari Special Economic Zone. It led the regulatory, licensing and commercial groundwork for the LuLu coastal cable system and is now developing it as part of the wider Vipingo digital gateway, working alongside S&S Advocates.
