Kenya launches semiconductor factory

Xinhua | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday presided over the launch of a nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing factory in Nyeri County, central Kenya, reiterating the importance of public-private partnerships in advancing the government’s manufacturing pillar of the country’s development plan.

The company produces integrated circuits, sensors, and related nanotechnology products for the world market.

The president said such factories form the foundation of making Kenya an industrialized nation.

“This is the dream some of us have for this country, our ability to become an industrialized nation, to be able to create good quality and well-paying jobs for our young people,” he said in a statement issued in Nairobi after the opening ceremony.

The nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing facility was established by Semiconductor Technologies Limited (STL) on the 177-acre Dedan Kimathi University of Technology’s Science and Technology Park on a public-private partnership arrangement.

Kenyatta said it is the unique company established by Kenyans like STL that will transform Kenya from a country that consumes products from other parts of the world to one that exports not only its products but also its technology across the globe.

“By producing locally, we are not only saving money but also creating well-paying jobs for our young people,” he said.

Kenyatta revealed that he will soon launch a shipbuilding enterprise in Mombasa, adding that the country is also getting back to assembling motor vehicles locally as used to happen in the past.

The new nanotechnology and semiconductor factory is the first of its kind on the African continent.