Mr. Benjamin Mark Roberts
Nationality: British
Country of Residence: Kenya
Organisation or affiliation: Digital Economy Advisors Limited
Position: Principal Advisor
Brief Motivation
Ben Roberts is well recognized for over 25 years of transformative leadership in building Africa's digital infrastructure. As Group CTIO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, he architected Africa's largest terrestrial fiber network spanning 110,000km across 17 countries. His deep technical expertise, combined with proven governance experience across multiple African subsidiaries and international partnerships, positions him uniquely to guide AFRINIC 's strategic direction. Ben's commitment to Africa's digital transformation, extensive work in technical communities, and leadership in developing local talent make
him an ideal advocate for African interests in Internet governance. His work connecting African networks, fostering innovation ecosystems, and driving policy development demonstrates the vision and expertise needed to ensure AfriNIC serves Africa's growing digital economy effectively. Now working as a consultant and startup advisor and investor, Ben has no vested commercial interests in the current and future predicament of AfriNIC, and he wishes to be a part of a fresh set of leaders to turn around AFRINIC to resume its place as a key pillar of Africa’s Digital Future.
Professional Background
Ben Roberts is a pan Africanist, settled in Kenya, and a distinguished technology leader with 25+ years driving Africa's digital transformation. As Group Chief Technology & Innovation at Liquid Intelligent Technologies Group, he built Africa's largest Pan-African IP network backbone (110,000km+ fiber), spanning Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, and South Africa, and other African nations.
Key Achievements:
- Network Infrastructure: Led strategy and implementation of Africa's most extensive terrestrial fiber network, establishing Liquid as one of the top 50 global IP backbone networks
- Internet Exchanges: Has been a long-standing member of the ISPA INX Working group and later the INX-ZA management board in South Africa to create Africa’s largest multi site data centre neutral Intrenet Exchanges.
- Satellite Services: Transformed a satellite business from bandwidth resale to becoming one of Africa's largest VSAT suppliers, implementing the global-first DVB-S2 shared trunking system, and now a globally cited industry observer of LEO Technologies and their impact in Africa
- International Connectivity: Established deep partnerships with global networks and major cloud providers, creating one of Africa's most connected and well-peered IP networks
- Innovation Leadership: Built Liquid's cloud business, led African tech innovation initiatives, and mentored numerous African startups
- Policy and National Initiatives: Has been member of the Digital Economy Strategy Task force and chaired a working group of the Kenya ICT Policy Task Force for the Government of Kenya, representing the Kenyan private sector as ICT Sector chair of KEPSA
Governance Experience:
- Board Chairman: Liquid Telecommunications Kenya Ltd (2013-2024)
- Board Chairman: East Africa Data Centre Ltd (2013-2024)
- Board Director: TEAMS (East African Marine Systems)
- Board Director: WIOCC (West Indian Ocean Cable Company)
- Board Director: Zanlink Ltd (Zanzibar)
- Board Director: Raha Liquid Telecom Ltd (Tanzania)
- Board Chair: Young Scientists Kenya Ltd (2023 to date) – an NGO in Kenya
- Chair: ICT Sector Board, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) (2021 to date)
- Technical Community Leadership:Active in Africa Peering Forum, ISOC, IETF, ITU
- Recognized thought leader in African ICT infrastructure development
Education: BSc Physics (2.1 Honours), University of Bristol
Ben's unique combination of technical expertise, governance experience, neutrality and commitment to African digital development makes him exceptionally qualified to represent a region independent seat Africa on AfrINIC's Board, ensuring all of African interests are well-served in Internet resource allocation and policy development