Zanzibar is moving forward with plans to develop Dunia Cyber City, a new special economic zone designed to attract technology companies, remote workers and digital entrepreneurs, combining a physical development with a virtual residency framework.

The project is being developed on a 71-hectare site on the Fumba Peninsula, on the western coast of Zanzibar Island, in partnership between the Zanzibari government and OurWorld, a Mauritius-based technology venture builder. The zone is intended to house between 5,000 and 7,000 physical residents, while also supporting a much larger number of “digital residents” who may not live on the island.

Under the plan, Dunia Cyber City will offer favourable tax conditions and a digital residency programme for individuals and businesses operating remotely. The initiative aims to position Zanzibar as a regional technology hub for East Africa, with developers describing ambitions comparable to the role Singapore has played in South-East Asia.

The project forms part of a broader concept often referred to as a “network state”, which focuses on building communities linked by digital infrastructure and shared economic frameworks rather than traditional citizenship alone. In practice, Dunia Cyber City will operate as a regulated special economic zone under Zanzibari law, with governance carried out through a joint venture involving the government’s telecommunications infrastructure agency.

Plans include the development of housing, office space and digital infrastructure, centred around a data facility operated using decentralised computing technology. Residents and businesses will be able to manage registrations, payments, taxation and company administration through an integrated digital system. Criminal law and enforcement will remain under the authority of the Zanzibari state.

At present, around 100 digital residents and several dozen businesses are already registered under the programme, with wider international promotion expected to begin this year. The developers have indicated that real estate transactions within the city will use tokenised digital titles, while revenues from land sales will be reinvested into local startups and technology initiatives.

Construction of the physical city is expected to proceed in phases, subject to ongoing fundraising and regulatory approvals, with the government granting long-term development rights for the site.