Today marks day one of the 12th Edition of the Connected Kenya Summit in Diani. The summit was officially declared open by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who reiterated Government’s commitment to grow the ICT sector in the country to a point where Kenya becomes the regional tech hub in Africa.
Connected Kenya is an annual event that brings together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society to discuss the use of technology in Kenya. This has been a day filled with insightful discussions and presentations.
The ICT Authority CEO Stanley Kamanguya has stated that this year’s conference aims to thoroughly examine the concepts of digitization and data utilization for development, along with aspects of data confidentiality and trust in the digital domain. Towards this, Immaculate Kassait, the Data Protection Officer, will deliver her presentation on these topics at a later time during the event and we will be in attendance. Additionally, the conference will focus on the government’s involvement in digital implementation, as well as the future of work in the digital economy, which has been emphasized by the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Speaking at the summit, Ps Musalia Mudavadi said that Africa is actively seeking partnerships and collaboration in the field of digitization. Kenya has placed a high priority on digitization and has made significant progress, with even more ambitious plans for the future. As it is, we are well on our way to being a digital hub in the continent, with great strides in physical IT infrastructure as well as robust policy frameworks to grow the sector.
‘’It is our intention to make Kenya the regional hub for technology transfer and a more inclusive innovation economy essential for the nation’s growth, competitiveness, domestic harmony, and national security,’’ he said.
The quantity of startups, incubators, and accelerator programs is on the rise, with numerous startups emerging across diverse industries. This is no surprise, given the fact that we have a large young population with bright ideas and the energy to pursue them. As Government and private sector play their role and put digitization infrastructure in place, other players will come in and find a great ICT environment in which to innovate and grow.
Mudavadi added that the government plans to establish collaboration between research and development organizations such as technology-based companies, universities, and healthcare facilities. Additionally, they aim to involve venture capitalists, incubators, and startups to facilitate Kenya’s transformation into a nation that drives digital progress.
’The government is dedicated to expanding the ICT sector in conjunction with the private sector through coordination, productive alignment, and cooperation while adhering to global best practices, as well as legal and policy frameworks.’ – Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
Another interesting session among many was a presentation by the presiding judge , high court of Mombasa Justine Olga Sewe who broke down how technology is transforming the judiciary and making it more efficient. For instance, courts are now able to livestream court processes, receive digital emails like emails, and service court processes via email. There are of course challenges like the sensitivity of legal information, disparities in that not everyone has access to technology, and the fact that use of digital evidence raises questions about data privacy.
Day one of Connected Kenya has been a huge success, with various stakeholders coming together to discuss how technology can drive Kenya’s development. The discussions have been insightful and thought-provoking, and we look forward to the rest of the event. We hope that the recommendations and ideas generated during the event will be implemented to build a more prosperous and resilient digital Kenya.
