Zanzibar’s economic identity is set for change as Dunia Cyber City, a legally designated Digital Free Zone built around the idea of a network state, is on the horizon. This project, which is backed by former Apple Marketing Director Florian Fournier, through his venture OurWorld, and the Zanzibari government, is ambitious, driven, and potentially transformative.
This is far more than a conventional tech park; it is a radical 71-hectare experiment in digital sovereignty and economic diversification located on Zanzibar’s Fumba Peninsula, designed as a special economic zone to physically host 5,000 to 7,000 residents while serving a global community of e-residents. By merging extreme tax competitiveness with a novel governance model, this initiative positions the island at the forefront of global debates on the future of work, cities, and nation-states.
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The city is being developed and managed through a joint venture between OurWorld and ZICTIA, Zanzibar’s state-owned ICT infrastructure agency. In November 2024, President Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi formally granted OurWorld jurisdiction to manage the zone under a 30-year concession, with future extension subject to government approval.
Dunia Cyber City proposes a radical partnership: Zanzibar provides land, legal clarity, and political support, while OurWorld contributes digital infrastructure, global networks, and a novel governance model. This initiative is built on the “network state” concept, which starts as a cloud-based digital community with shared values and economic alignment before acquiring physical territory, positioning the project as an e-residency hub and a jurisdiction for technological sovereignty that serves as a legal anchor for a global digital population.
The core economic engine of Dunia Cyber City is its highly competitive fiscal framework, which features a 5% income tax for remote residents, a 15% rate for physical residents, zero corporate tax for the first decade, and no capital gains or wealth taxes, incentives designed to rival or surpass those of established hubs like Dubai, Singapore, and Estonia. Crucially, this structure aligns global digital capital with local development by ensuring Zanzibar retains resident tax revenues and channels real estate proceeds into funding domestic companies, integrating foreign investment with domestic enterprise growth rather than creating an isolated enclave.
In terms of scale and early traction, the project has demonstrated significant ambition and initial momentum, with its land valued at approximately $70 million and a targeted commercial value of $1 billion within two years, representing a potential 15-fold increase. While current adoption metrics show around 100 registered e-residents and 30 businesses, with a target of attracting 5,000 to 7,000 physical residents, this early phase is typical for digital jurisdictions, which are expected to scale non-linearly once foundational regulatory certainty and critical network effects are firmly established.
In a competitive global landscape, Dunia Cyber City positions Zanzibar not as a direct rival to mature hubs like Singapore or Dubai, but as a uniquely agile, low-cost alternative for digital talent and firms. Its advantage lies in offering significant optionality, a combination of zero corporate tax for a decade, low income taxes, a favourable climate, and high regulatory agility that appeals to globally mobile individuals and businesses seeking alignment over bureaucracy, filling a specific niche among digital jurisdictions.
Economically, the cyber city is a strategic intervention for Zanzibar, which enjoys robust GDP growth but remains structurally over-dependent on tourism. By attracting digital infrastructure investment and creating high-skilled jobs, the project aims to diversify the island’s economy, generate new export categories in digital services, and build long-term fiscal resilience, all while aligning with sustainability goals by scaling without the ecological strain of mass tourism.
This digital pivot is a natural evolution of Zanzibar’s historical identity as a connector, transitioning from a 19th-century maritime trade hub to a 21st-century digital gateway. The initiative is bolstered by present developments like nationwide computer education and broadband expansion, embedding it within a broader national digital transformation rather than leaving it as an isolated project.
The project’s ultimate success hinges on navigating significant challenges, including avoiding the creation of a socially disconnected economic enclave and managing regulatory uncertainties. If executed with a focus on governance and inclusion, Dunia Cyber City has the potential to anchor East Africa’s digital economy and become a repeatable model for how small states can leverage technological sovereignty to compete globally, transforming Zanzibar from a picturesque destination into a powerful platform for the future.
