Afcacia

Kenya’s upcoming innovation city Konza Technopolis plans to host a major a global ICT conference in 2024.

Speaking at the 12th edition of the Connected Summit held in Diani, Kwale county, ICT and Digital Economy Cabinet secretary, Eliud Owalo said Kenya is ready to host the  high level global Connected Summit.

The CS said Konza is already playing role in the country’s shift to digital economy.

“Konza is also taking on the role of data storage. At the same time, Konza offers wide scope for investment in East Africa’s first Smart City in the making – our Silicon Savannah,” noted the CS.

The CS noted that the government is intensifying the digital talent development programme, the key components being skill development, on-the-job coaching, mentorship, training, certification and ICT innovations.

This is a 12-month internship package to develop ICT high-end skills in recent graduates.

Under the Programme, 356 students graduated in November 2022. Another 400 interns, recruited in December 2022, are currently undergoing training.

Also, the Ajira Programme provides free training and helping link youth to job opportunities. The Programme had trained 73,000 youths by December 2022 in technical institutions, universities and youth empowerment centres.

“It (Ajira) is currently sharpening skills for 120,000 youths. This training is also ongoing for women and traders. It seeks to increase income and the use of JiKonnect hotspots. We are also providing training to the public workforce for effective service delivery. We are concurrently running several digital skills capacity-building programmes,” noted the CS.

Jitume Programme, which is designed to equip technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVETs) countrywide with digital skills, has set up 17 fully operational tech labs.

The CS noted that the Kenya Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST), a smart university, is at an advanced operational stage.

“It will provide master’s and doctorate level training in the three faculties of Mechanical, Electrical, and ICT Engineering,” he said.

Upon its completion in 2030, Konza Technopolis is expected to position Kenya as a knowledge-based economy and a preferred Science, Technology & Innovation (ST&I) destination.

The city is expected to generate 17,000 direct jobs at the end of Phase One and have 200,000 residents at the end of 2030.