One eSIM for 29 African destinations
North Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia. West Africa: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. Central Africa: the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. East Africa and the islands: Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Réunion, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Southern Africa: Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa.
When you cross into another covered country, the eSIM should connect to a partner network there; if it has not after a few minutes, switch airplane mode off and on or choose a network manually. You get mobile internet, not a local number, on plans of 1 GB for 7 days or 3 GB or 5 GB for 30 days. Some of these countries are under do-not-travel advice or see network shutdowns, so check your government's advice for each one.
Not covered: Namibia, Zimbabwe and other gaps
Several popular countries are not on this plan, among them Namibia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Mauritius. On the Southern Africa safari circuit, the plan covers South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, but not Namibia or Zimbabwe - for those, add a separate Namibia or Zimbabwe eSIM.
At Victoria Falls, Zambia (covered) and Zimbabwe (not covered) are only a bridge apart, and your phone may pick up a Zimbabwean network without you noticing. If data stops near the falls, choose a Zambian network manually in your mobile settings.
Kenya and Tanzania safaris
Both are covered, so one eSIM takes you from the Masai Mara to the Serengeti. In Tanzania it uses Airtel or Vodacom; in Kenya it uses Airtel only, not Safaricom. Expect signal in towns and at some park gates and camps, not out on game drives, where large parts of the parks have none. Download offline maps and send your photos from camp.
Speeds vary from country to country
The partner networks offer 5G in some countries - South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Egypt among them - and 4G in most others, but only 3G in a few, such as the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau and Niger. To make 3 GB or 5 GB last, turn on Low Data Mode (iPhone) or Data Saver (Android): it cuts background data such as photo backups until you are back on WiFi.
