Zanzibar plans cyber city for digital nomads
Zanzibar is building a crypto-friendly cyber city on the Fumba Peninsula, joining a growing trend of destinations blending lifestyle and blockchain technology. Olivia Palamountain reports
Zanzibar, the Tanzanian archipelago known for its spice markets, turquoise waters and historic Stone Town, is developing a smart city near the Fumba Peninsula that combines physical residency with a globally connected digital community.
The project, called Dunia Cyber City, will sit on a 71-hectare site and operate as a special economic zone (SPZ) with crypto-friendly rules. An SPZ is more like a sandbox or a testing zone where tech workers live, earn, and pay using digital systems first. (Yahoo Finance).
Government approval was granted in November 2024, with a 30-year land lease in place. The city is designed to accommodate 5,000 to 7,000 physical residents alongside a much larger network of digital residents who participate in the city's economy and governance online.
As reported by Business Insider Africa, the cyber city, which Zanzibari law has designated as the physical portion of a "Digital Free Zone," will offer comparatively favourable income tax rates, 5% for tax residents who live remotely, 15% for those who live physically, and a complete exemption for businesses for the first ten years of operation, as well as no capital gains or wealth tax. The government of Zanzibar will receive resident taxes, and the proceeds from city real estate sales will be used to fund local companies.
Dunia Cyber City is part of a concept known as a "network state", which involves creating a community of like-minded people who can live and work together, with a focus on technological experimentation and cryptocurrency, says Bloomberg.
Zanzibar is joining a growing global trend of crypto-forward destinations. In El Salvador, Bitcoin Beach pioneered a small-scale crypto economy that inspired national adoption of Bitcoin. Celebrity-backed projects such as Akon City in Senegal and Idris Elba's planned eco-city in Sierra Leone have made headlines, though both remain largely unbuilt.
