ICT Docket Unveils 3-Year Strategy to Bridge Digital Inequality and Promote Digital Culture
The ICT Authority has announced its plans to bridge digital inequality, redesign business processes, optimise the digital environment, enhance organisational capacity as well as the digital culture in Kenya within the next three years.
This is based on the newly launched ICT Authority (ICTA) Strategic Plan 2024-2027 that was unveiled on Friday.
Under the new plan, the government plans to bridge barriers to access-costs, ease the use of digital solutions, address data dynamics availability, access to data and information in friendly formats and invest in dynamic digital literacy and life-long learning (Upskilling and reskilling).
It also seeks to expand access to digital products, solutions and services for businesses, address gaps in the digital framework, cyber security and emergence of new technologies as well as gaps in corporate architecture and awareness among stakeholders on ICT mandates and investments.
ICTA noted that in order to implement this new strategic plan, the docket will require funding of approximately Sh 304.37 billion.
Currently, the Authority is raising Sh 800 million from the sector, projecting to raise an average of Sh 1.5 billion to Sh 2 billion annually in the next three years.
Speaking during the launch, ICT and Digital Economy CS Margaret Ndung’u said the strategic plan was developed to guide the implementation and achievements of Kenya Kwanza’s projects as indicated in the National Digital Masterplan 2022-2032.
Ndung’u said the government has made major strides in its quest to digitise the country through its digital superhighway agenda two years since coming to power.
“We are progressing to expanding Kenya’s fibre network coverage countrywide, which entails laying of 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable,” she said.
“At the same time, our journey of setting up 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots and 1,450 Digital Village Smart Hubs across the country is on course.”
Ndung’u further stated that the ministry is increasing e-government services through the automation of government services.
This includes business process automation, digitisation of manual records, enhancing of data sharing across agencies and use of a single unique identifier for access to digital services.
“With this strategic plan we are building digital bridges that span the width of our great nation, ensuring that no community, no person is left behind in our digital evolution,” she said.
“For me, it is important that women, particularly those in rural areas, are empowered through digital technologies as our future generation is predominantly in their hands.”
This plan, Ndung’u added, lays the groundwork for transformational projects such as nationwide digital literacy programs, the expansion of secure broadband infrastructure, and the implementation of e-government services that bring public services to the fingertips of every citizen.
On his part, ICTA CEO Stanley Kamanguya said the country is at a critical point where the old strategies that we have continued to rely on to grow our economy, fuel our GDP growth are kind of coming to a plateau because we are maxing out on all other sectors.
Closing the digital divide, he said, presents the country with an opportunity to drive efficiency and innovation but also reduce the amount of interactions that are required across industries through technology.
“We plan to also look at how we can elevate and also help innovators to scale to commercial levels but also, at how we can leverage these innovations to address our socio-economic challenges.”
Kamanguya further noted that they have deliberately identified some revenue raising measures that the authority can be able to undertake to support the initiatives outlined in the strategic plan.
He added that even though the government has ambitious plans based on the National Digital Masterplan 2002-2032, the government banks on partnerships and collaborations to achieve the set goals.
“As a country we are at a critical stage where the issues of fiscal consolidation continue to persist. One Of the issues we are facing is to try as much as possible to reduce expenditure but also to maximise on the assets and investments that have already been done by the government,” he said.
The ministry also unveiled the Connected Africa Summit 2025 preparations during the launch of the strategic plan highlighting the successes of this year’s event which took place in April.
This year’s Connected Africa Summit saw the unveiling of the Nairobi Declaration by African ICT cabinet ministers which aims to underscore the importance of working together to deliver on internet connectivity, data sharing, data investments and skilling of the youth for digital jobs.
CS Ndung’u said the summit declarations pledged to harness digital infrastructure and technologies to drive inclusive economic growth by at least 5% annually within the next decade.
The declaration, she said, also proposed the establishment of the Africa Cybersecurity and Al Council to enhance the continent’s capacity and capability to address emerging risks of accelerated digitalisation.
“This council will serve as an advisory entity, driving policies that align with our shared values and developmental goals. It will be great to link this with the African Union Cybersecurity Expert Group (AUCSEG) which was established in 2019.” Ndung’u said.
“We reaffirm our dedication, as outlined in our meetings, to propel Africa into a digital future marked by equality, inclusion, sustainability, transparency, accountability, diversity, and respect for human rights, including privacy.”
“Building on the successes and lessons learned from the past summit, we aim to make next year’s event even more impactful. We want Connected Africa to be a signature event. The 2025 Summit will continue our mission to drive digital transformation across the continent.”
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