Business
Kenya web innovators get $55 million grant from World Bank
App developers at work in Nairobi, Kenya. PHOTO/File
Kenya’s quest to become the global hub for mobile phone applications has been bolstered by a grant of US$55 million from the World Bank.
The money will be used to help developers come up with simple solutions for every day use with a focus on health and education.
The World Bank said the grant would enable Kenya to enhance accountability through web-based applications and transform the economy.
“Information technology has on average contributed one percentage point to Kenya’s growth since 2000, and opened a path for achieving remarkable improvements in transparency and also in governance,” said Johannes Zutt, the World Bank country director for Kenya.
Kenya information ministry permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo said the money would help boost content development and create jobs while facilitating the government’s efforts to offer its services online.
Kenya has put in place the second-fastest broadband on the continent (after Ghana), which has reduced the wholesale Internet capacity prices by over 90 percent and increased Internet penetration from three to 37 percent of the population in the past decade.
