Business
Update: Construction of Konza Techno City to transform Kenya into major tech hub
“Kenya should be more of a ‘Digital Savannah’ and not ‘Silicon Savannah’, says TMS “Teddy” Ruge, co-founder of Project Diaspora USA/Uganda, an organization that mobilizes resources from Africans in diaspora to invest in Africa, “We are yet to manufacture things here, and most of the companies we have here are based on digital solutions.”
Kenya’s reputation as a technology leader in Africa suffered an embarrassing setback during the March national elections when both a biometric ID system designed to avoid multiple voting and an electronic transmission system to speed up vote counting broke down.
Notwithstanding, Konza appears to be proving skeptics wrong. So far, more than a dozen companies are expected to start setting up operations in Konza.
“Konza will become a game-changer in Kenya’s socio-economic development, spurring massive trade and investment across the entire region,” said the now retired president Mwai Kibaki at the groundbreaking ceremony held in January at the proposed new city.
Source: United Nations Africa Renewal Magazine
