President Ruto to deploy a 100,000km Digital Superhighway
Kenya has been spotlighted as one of Africa's best technologically advanced countries behind South Africa, Egypt & Nigeria. International tech companies looking to set up shops in Africa have been continually drawn to Nairobi, the country's business-friendly capital. Kenya’s ICT blueprints and mandates have continuously been flattering to both netizens and multinational companies alike. This is why tech giants such as Google, VISA and Microsoft have not shied away from setting up offices and innovation hubs in the country’s capital; now dubbed as the ‘Silicon Savannah’.
During the 59th Madaraka Day Celebrations held at Uhuru Gardens, the president reiterated Kenya’s commitment in advancing ICT matters for the good of its people.
“The Government is committed to invest in the digital superhighway and the creative economy, which will be enablers of transformation, productivity and overall competitiveness,” the president remarked.
This seems to be a continuation of what his predecessors started. One being Former President Uhuru Kenyatta under the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project which included a plan to build a 750-kilometre Isiolo-Mandera Road and lay the fibre optic cable. Uhuru’s government built more than 9000 kilometres of terrestrial fibre that reached all Kenyan counties via the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure Project (NOFBI).
Ruto stated that over the next five years, his Government will ensure universal broadband availability by hastening the roll-out of connectivity throughout the country. The laying out of an additional 100,000km of the national fibre-optic network is expected to deliver this target.
President Ruto also applauded Kenyan creatives for creating content that is consumable on a global scale. This means that technology is a huge driving force in job creation for our current Kenyan economy.
“Kenya is a strong leader in the information, communication and technology space. Our youth have consistently shown robust interest in this field and are engaged on various platforms, generating captivating content that is appreciated globally,” he said.
Conclusion
Over to you Mr President. We hope that this project is rolled out soon with speed and agility so as to propel our tech talent base and potential as a people!