Over the past few weeks, Kenya has clearly demonstrated its full embrace of digital advancements. Important interactions between citizens and the government now occur on X Spaces, and national discussions are increasingly shaped by big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Participants from remote areas like Lokichogio, Mount Elgon, and Elwak, as well as major global cities such as London, Paris, New York, and Sydney, connected to the President’s interview on X Spaces last Friday. This illustrates how digital technologies are enhancing inclusivity and public participation in a cost-effective manner.
Years of strategic infrastructure development, broadening broadband access, improving digital skills training, deploying WiFi in underserved areas, and nurturing a supportive digital ecosystem have led to this seamless digital integration. Kenya now operates under a “Digital First” approach, marking substantial advances in its digital transformation.
This advancement underscores how the Kenya Kwanza Government’s inclusion of ICT as a cornerstone of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (Beta) is yielding tangible results.
Broadening e- connection
To advance Kenya’s digital ambitions, the government has undertaken an ambitious five-year initiative to install 100,000km of optic fiber infrastructure. As of June 2024, approximately 10,219km of fiber have been laid across all 47 counties.
This project utilizes the existing electricity transmission lines of KPLC, enabling the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) to extend connectivity to each of the 74,000 KPLC transformers and ultimately reach every household, business, and institution nationwide.
This approach not only reduces costs and streamlines implementation schedules but also facilitates easier maintenance. The expansion of fiber optic connectivity by 100,000km marks a major milestone in Kenya’s digital journey, with the goal of reaching millions of homes, businesses, wards, police stations, health facilities, schools, and other public institutions over the next five years.
Most importantly, this initiative lays a solid foundation for embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and plays a crucial role in advancing our journey towards progress and prosperity.
To harness the full potential of this infrastructure, it must drive socio-economic transformation by creating job opportunities, supporting businesses and e-commerce, enhancing education and innovation, improving access to government services, and advancing sectors like e-health, e-agriculture, and the creative economy.
In line with these objectives, the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy (MoICDE) aims to establish and activate 25,000 free public Wi-Fi hotspots in densely populated areas such as markets, bus stations, and trading centers.
As of June 2024, the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy (MoICDE), working alongside other stakeholders, had established 1,360 Free Wi-Fi Hotspots nationwide. Collaborations with KPLC and private sector ISPs are set to significantly expand these hotspots, extending their reach while reducing rollout expenses.
The ability to access and benefit from digital resources hinges on citizens possessing essential digital skills, technological know-how, and digital literacy necessary to fully utilize technology’s advantages.
This requires investing in equipping citizens with basic, intermediate, and advanced digital skills, enabling them to build and monetize ICT services, systems, and programs, as well as perform communication and work-related tasks effectively.
Over the past 18 months, MoICDE has connected 205 educational institutions, primarily Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers, with 16,804 Internet access devices. Furthermore, through initiatives like Jitume and Ajira, 516,505 individuals have received training, resulting in 152,711 youths securing jobs in ICT-related fields, a key objective of the digital transformation agenda.
To expand access, drive innovation, and boost ICT literacy, the MoICDE is implementing plans to establish 1,450 digital innovation hubs, one in each ward. As of now, 274 hubs have been operationalized, equipped with learning centers, labs for practical work and innovation, WiFi hotspots, and shared working spaces.
Each hub, accommodating between 30 to 100 workstations, aims to train up to 300 young people and generate corresponding digital job opportunities per constituency. To support the setup of these hubs, Parliament amended legislation in November 2023 to allocate three percent of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) for their construction and upkeep. The initiative expects to train 180,000 individuals in relevant gig economy skills, creating over 200,000 jobs by December 2024, with an overarching goal of achieving one million digital jobs by 2027.
Capacity development
As part of its skill development agenda, the government is in the process of setting up the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) at Konza Technopolis, recognizing it as a strategically important national institution.
Science, Technology, and Innovation are viewed as critical drivers for accelerating the modernization and transformation of Kenyan society into a knowledge-based economy and achieving middle-income status by 2030. Construction of KAIST is currently 54 percent complete.
Additionally, the government has established and activated the Open University of Kenya (OUK) located at Konza, which offers courses through a virtual platform hosted, maintained, and supported by Konza Technopolis. OUK exemplifies how digital technology is significantly reducing the cost of university education and expanding access.
The initial student intake is ongoing, with 3,289 students admitted so far. Konza Technopolis has also established and fully operationalized a data center hosting 122 clients from both public and private sectors. This initiative has created opportunities for 94 ICT solution providers, innovators, and private partners who are actively collaborating to develop innovative solutions and support services through the Konza cloud.
In further leveraging digitalization benefits, the government aims to enhance service delivery efficiency by digitizing all government services, making them accessible from homes, workplaces, or businesses.
In the past 18 months, the MoICDE has successfully digitalized and integrated 17,668 government services into the e-citizen portal. This effort has increased citizen access to services, reduced instances of corruption and revenue losses, and thereby improved government revenue collection.
To enhance efficiency, the MoICDE has installed 92 video conferencing facilities across all government ministries, the presidency, and the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary. Since January 2023, all Cabinet meetings have been conducted digitally.
In efforts to expand digital access and promote e-commerce, the MoICDE is collaborating with the private sector to provide cost-effective smartphones to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and lower-income individuals in Kenya. Through initiatives like East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited (EADAK) and MKOPA, 1.5 million phones have been locally assembled, with 579,771 units sold. Affordable options like the ‘Neon Phones’ are available, retailing from Sh7,500.
Job generation
Significant job possibilities have been generated by these programs, which directly employ 2,350 full-time employees and indirectly support an additional 12,000 workers.
Additionally, by updating digital terrestrial broadcasting infrastructure, expanding FM radio coverage, and modernizing its TV Center, the MoICDE is revitalizing the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). Through Studio Mashinani, KBC has assisted 1,018 audiovisual productions, and it is currently modernizing its infrastructure.
The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) has accomplished many noteworthy milestones, such as paying off employee wage arrears, digitizing company procedures, launching door-to-door delivery, earning Sh200 million from passport delivery, and growing its emergency message service (EMS) offerings.
In addition, PCK is now generating more money from logistics services and is working with Kemsa to ship medical supplies. In order to guarantee the effective execution of its initiatives, the MoICDE has created or advanced significant legislative and policy frameworks. Amendments to the Kenya Information and Communications Act (Amendment) Bill, the National Addressing System Bill, the ICTA Bill, the Technopolis Bill, and the National ICT Policy Guidelines 2020 are among the major accomplishments.
The MoICDE Cabinet Secretary has convened a sector-working group to review the legal and policy frameworks governing the ministry’s responsibilities. This review aims to adapt to changes in the operating environment and the emergence of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, and Quantum Computing. The sector-working group is expected to present its final report soon. While Kenya has made significant strides in its ambitious digital transformation plan, there is still substantial work ahead. The current indicators are promising, and the ongoing progress is encouraging. According to the World Bank, Kenya’s ICT sector has consistently outperformed other sectors, growing by 23 percent annually over the last decade. With continued engagement and support, Kenya is poised for sustained growth in the years to come.