Connected Summit 2022 will look into how government can accelerate the country’s digital transformation

Connected Summit is back. The thought leadership forum which was first held in 2009 brings together industry players from the private sector, public sector and academia. 

The summit is hosted by the ICT Authority in collaboration with key players in the sector. The summit will be held from Sunday 10th April to Thursday 14th April 2022 at Leisure Lodge Golf and Resort, Diani, Kwale County under the theme ‘’Accelerating Digital Transformation’’ 

According to the ICT Authority, the year’s theme seeks to build on foundations set in the last decade to drive conversations on accelerating digital gains, opportunities in the transformation of Kenya’s villages to Smart cities and accelerating business, closing the digital skills gap. Among the summit topics that will contextualise this theme in forging new partnerships for accelerating growth, improving service delivery and the livelihood of every Kenyan. 

Billed as one the largest ICT forums in the region, the Connected Summit 2022 will be sponsored by Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom, Telkom Kenya+ Dimension Data, Amazon Web Services, TESPOK, Dell and Intel. 

“The Summit will feature high-level discussions, a women in Tech Stream, Waziri Golf Cup and the Innovation Awards. There will also be an exhibition and ICT expo featuring ICT innovations and life-changing ICT solutions from the public and private sectors that have made an impact in the lives of Kenyans,” says Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh the Ag. Chief Executive Officer of the ICT Authority.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa says the summit offers a great platform to engage other stakeholders and partners on how frontier digital technology such as 5G, IoT and Artificial Intelligence can transform lives, power inclusion and create sustainable livelihoods.

Past Connected Summit events are credited with the birth of key public service innovations including the Huduma Centers. The centres offer a wide range of government services including national identity cards, birth certificates, NHIF services, police abstracts, registration of business names and applications of business licences, NSSF services, investor-related registrations, and many other services all under one roof

Others include the E-Citizen online portal that allows Kenyans to access different government services. There is also the Digital Literacy Program which aims at ensuring pupils in standard one to three are able to use digital technology and communication tools in learning with an overarching objective of transforming learning in Kenya into a 21st Century education system.

The National ICT Master Plan is also a product of past Connected Summit. The Masterplan, which is also aligned to Vision 2030, helps to create an enabling policy, legal and regulatory environment as well as stimulate the setup and growth of ICT-related businesses to enhance employment creation in Kenya among other things. The Government will partner with the private sector and development partners to fund the variety of flagship projects planned for implementation during the plan period. 

“It’s hoped that this year’s Connected Summit will have outcomes that will define how ICT will continue to enable Kenya to realise the objectives of the Digital economy blueprint,” Ronoh says. 

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