Cybersecurity will be the top agenda at the Connected Summit 2017 to be held in Diani, Mombasa from 9th to 13th April.
This follows the rapid rise of cybercrime as hackers increasingly target the Kenyan digital economy amidst continued proliferation of financial technology and internet banking.
Speaking when he received sponsorship cheques totaling to Ksh17 million from players in the ICT sector, ICT Authority Ag. CEO Robert Mugo noted that new financial transactions platforms come with a new risk profile. This has necessitated stakeholders in the financial technology space to focus on balancing innovation with prudent risk management.
He noted that the distinction between banks and mobile network operators, for example, continue to diminish, “This development provides additional economic interactions, raises new frontiers, questions and invites novel responses from regulatory to operational interventions,” he said.
He further added that deliberations from the forum would the help the country map a future of economic prosperity using ICTs based solutions, as well as review achievements and lessons learnt in both public and the private sector.
Themed “Shaping the future,” the Connected Summit 2017 will bring together senior government officials, county representatives, private sector players and authorities in ICT to highlight the needs on the ground as public sector endeavors to deliver efficient services to the citizen.
Billed as one the largest ICT forums in the region, the summit has already secured platinum sponsorships from companies such as Cisco, Dimension Data, and Telkom Kenya. “We have also secure tremendous support from organizations such as Oracle, Huawei, Tespok, JP Sa Couto SA, Avanti, Intel, Safaricom, and Citibank,” said Mr. Mugo.
Other topics slated for discussion include Internet of Things (IoT), innovation for service delivery and business, innovation as enabler of development, the future of technology in education and analytics and big data among others.
Mr. Mugo observed that the fact that private entities in this era actively collect and keep citizens’ data was becoming a concern a people increasingly question how this data is used. One of the key objectives of the Connected Summit is to develop and recommend policy, regulatory and operational interventions necessary to ensure management of citizens’ data for mutual benefit of both the Government and private Sector.
He added that by deliberating on efforts to date and examining lessons learnt, delegates at Connected Summit 2017 will explore and identify issues that arise and the need to be addressed in order to better harness the data resource on citizens.
Featured Image: ICT Authority Ag. CEO Robert Mugo (left), receives sponsorship for Connected Summit 2017 from Microsoft Country Manager, Kunle Awosika and Lilian Nganda, Microsoft Communications Manager.
