Once again, the premier ICT event, “Connected Summit”, is here, bringing together over 1,000 local, regional and global industry leaders, policy makers, financiers and innovators to spur the use of technology in the development of the country. The annual summit’S theme this year is “Digital Economy: Endless opportunities shaping our future,”.
Kenya’s move to import oil from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on credit and payment made in the local currency is expected to ease pressure on the country’s forex reserves as well as stabilise pump prices. The six-month oil deal will also save the shilling from falling further as there will be a declined demand for US dollars, in particular by oil importers.
Power generation from solar has tripled in the past years as the country steps up efforts to produce electricity from renewable sources. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) noted that the country’s installed solar photovoltaic capacity currently stands at 210 megawatts (MW), up from 170MW in mid-last year.
How 15-billion tree project will cushion Kenya.Trees help to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere reducing emissions that normally fan climate change effects.
Government, through TVETs, seeks to train over a million young people on accessing online employment and opportunities. That the future of work is online, and most likely on the mobile phone, is no longer deniable. This is a fact that the government has acknowledged and has stepped up efforts to create online jobs and opportunities.
Scrapping of visa curbs aids in economic transformation in areas like tourism, renewable energy, education, agriculture, security, sports and mining. Kenya has in the past months signed agreements with Eritrea and South Africa to abolish visa restrictions for their citizens to ease movement of goods and people.
Mr Eliud Owalo, the CS for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, said the ambitious project is at the centre of the government’s digital agenda, which include provision of 25,000 free WiFi spots at public places, issuance of digital loans, and the establishment of 1,450 digital hubs in villages to boost youth employment.
Government moves to use credit scores in disbursing the loans. The scoring is arrived at by checking one’s transactions and saving history, which they must keep improving to get higher loan limits.