On 21 August 2024, Internet Society President and CEO Sally Wentworth spoke in the welcoming session of the 2024 Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Thank you for this opportunity to be part of today’s welcome session.
I want to step back to the first African Peering and Interconnection Forum in 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya. There were about 80 participants from 20 African countries and other parts of the world. The theme was “Unlocking Africa’s Regional Interconnection” and the discussion was about how most of African cross-border Internet traffic was exchanged in Europe, or even North America, and what could be done about that.
14 years later, AfPIF, both the event and the community of people, has had a profound impact on the people of Africa. The Internet is faster, more reliable, and more resilient because of the peering and interconnections made possible through this community. The opportunities of the Internet for social and economic development have been brought to more people because of the connections made here. The Internet is more affordable because, increasingly, more traffic is kept local.
This global network of networks has grown stronger, and more connected, because of the work of this community.
The best example of this increased resilience is when this community has come together in times of need. This year we’ve seen subsea cable cuts, both on the eastern side of Africa and on the western side. People from across this community came together quickly to respond. Alternative paths were provisioned quickly, enabling international connectivity at some level until repairs could be made.
The Internet continued to function. People were able to connect, communicate, collaborate, and create online.
When we talk about resilience, we often think about network resilience – multiple paths and additional connections. And that is important. But equally important is human resilience, and that is what AfPIF consistently delivers.
Over these years, we’ve seen the growth in connections between people. We’ve seen the ideas and gaps discussed here at AfPIF transformed into practical investments and partnerships.
We’ve seen the knowledge and information shared here at AfPIF used to inform policy and lead to training programs delivered in many places across Africa.
We’ve seen the mentoring and growth of new champions and experts who are influencing peering and interconnection – both the technologies and polices – across the entire continent.
This growth of human capacity – this building of human resilience – is the power of AfPIF, both the event and this amazing community.
Today, the AfPIF community can clearly show the impact it has had on people throughout Africa. Lives have been made better by the peering and interconnection that has happened here.
I want to thank all who are attending, both here in person and remotely. I want to thank the organizers who have made this possible. I want to thank the sponsors who are vital to making this event happen.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to our host this year, the Internet Service Providers Association of the DRC led by the Chair, Mr. Laurent Ntumba Kayemba and Operations Director, Mr. Nico Tshintu. We have had what we consider to be one of our most successful partnerships for the last 14 years, through which we jointly supported the establishment of three IXPs in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Goma, and delivered training to enhance the technical capacity of engineers in DRC.
According to measurement data, these three IXPs localize over 150 gigabits of traffic per second during peak hours and users in DRC access 54% of the most popular content locally. We are also pleased to see the interest that local and international data center operators have shown in the country. This indicates the country’s potential to become an important regional hub for interconnecting East Africa, West Africa, and Southern Africa.
All this points to a growing local Internet ecosystem enabled by the IXPs to deliver resilient and affordable connectivity and a strong local community. There is still much to be done to bring connectivity to more people. It is my hope that we can continue to collaborate with you and other local stakeholders, including the Internet Society DRC Chapter and policymakers, to consider alternative approaches to extending connectivity to those in rural and remote places of this vast and beautiful country.
The impact of AfPIF resonates far beyond this event. Building resilience, both the network and human kind, is best through the collaborative spirit of strong communities such as this one.
At the Internet Society, we have a strategic goal that people everywhere have access to affordable, reliable, and resilient Internet. I look forward to continuing to work with you all to make that a reality.
Thank you.