How Should African Countries Respond to the Re-Emergence of Techno-Geopolitics? A Case Study of Kenya’s Multi-Vendor 5G Network Development Strategy

Mandira Bagwandeen

The escalating US-China competition for technological leadership, particularly highlighted in the US-Huawei 5G dispute, forces countries worldwide to navigate a complex techno-geopolitical landscape. While the United States presents its concerns about Chinese technology (especially Huawei products) around national security and market dominance, many African countries, driven by urgent digital development needs, continue to engage pragmatically with various technology providers, including Huawei. This paper contends that to avoid becoming “pawns” in this techno-geopolitical rivalry, African nations should adopt an active, digitally or technologically non-aligned approach, leveraging multi-vendor arrangements where possible to develop their ICT infrastructure. Through an integrative literature review, the first section conceptualises “techno-geopolitics,” emphasising how technological advancement and geopolitical power intersect, and situates the US-China tech competition within this framework, with the US-Huawei 5G dispute as a key example. The second section, based on primary and secondary data, offers a case study of Kenya’s 5G network development. It explores how Safaricom, a partly state-owned enterprise, has strategically employed a multi-vendor strategy to navigate US pressure to avoid partnering with Huawei for 5G development, thus asserting African agency in this techno-quagmire. The paper concludes by advocating for a digitally non-aligned stance as a viable strategy for African countries to maximise ICT investment and developmental benefits while safeguarding their national interests amidst the intense US-China techno-geopolitical rivalry.