Kenya’s Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary, Eliud Owalo, has announced that the development of 1,450 ICT hubs in all wards across the country will begin in 2024.
The need to develop the grassroots ICT sector is described as vital in setting a stronger foundation for ICT-related development and the digital economy.
It’s partly about delivering on the country’s digital superhighway project, but the aim is also for the ICT hubs in the wards to create job opportunities, especially for young people.
Quoted in IT Web Africa, Owalo said: “Imagine at one digital hub, we are capable of creating 300 digital jobs. In a constituency that has an average of five wards, we are capable of creating 1,500 jobs in the village.”
The government first announced these plans last year when it said that it would establish the hubs for citizen digital literacy training, film production and public access to government services across the country.
The recommendations to build the hubs are contained in Kenya’s Digital Masterplan 2022-2032 which guides the structured delivery of ICT infrastructure, services, and the development of skills. It also sets out a ten-year roadmap for the country on ICT initiatives to guide investors while planning their priorities and identifies 19 flagship projects.
A Digital Literacy Programme was first initiated by the Kenyan government in 2016; implementation started in July 2019. During this first phase, 1,169,000 digital learning and teaching devices assembled locally were installed in 21,638 public primary schools.
