The ICT Authority has revealed it will be hosting other members of the ICT industry at a software factory in Mulot, Bomet County. The theme of the fair will be Fostering Digital Transformation.
According to a statement from the host, the ceremony will be led by ICT CS Joe Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation & Youth Affairs, Government of Kenya Agencies, County Governments, academia, civil society, ICT Firms, and other professional bodies.
During the staging of the Connected Kenya Summit in Diani in April, the ICT Ministry launched a decade-long Digital Masterplan. It is a primary means of managing information and resources within the organization.
The government of Kenya has since requested state departments to develop ICT plans to keep up with developments in both ICT infrastructure and the flow of information that can lead to better decision-making.
Besides, the mission of the decade-long Master Plan is to enhance the collaboration of the public and private sectors to form the development network of information systems and infrastructure.
The Plan also details ICT management and planning for education and training.
Now, circling back to the Mulot event, the said Digital Masterplan Plan identified the establishment of two software industries through which the government would employ over 100,000 software engineers to develop applications for the region as well as the global market. The software factory at Mulot matches the agenda of the Plan.
Bomet County and especially Mulot area has been identified as an area with potential software engineers, which if tapped well, will create software enterprise for the country as well as for the region.
The fair will discuss, among others, the strides the government has achieved in broadband connectivity, government services transformation, products & data management services, digital skills capacity building to the citizens approach, and innovation.
Part of the implementation of the Plan has already been put into action by the ICT Authority, including the installation of public Wi-Fi spots across various locations within Nairobi County.
Furthermore, the Citizens Digital Skills program was launched in June 2022 targeting to train 20 million citizens on the competencies and expertise required for the digital economy and to bridge the digital divide.
An event has been slated for tomorrow (July 29), which, as said, will be staged in Bomet County. It will bring together industry players, academia, professional bodies, and donors to deepen the understanding of how to foster digital transformation and conduct the launch of the Kenya Software Industry.