Apart from deliberations on how to leverage ICT to developing the country, last year’s Connected Kenya held in Kwale Kenya saw the launch of the ICT masterplan as well as focus groups that would hold the government accountable on its implementation not to mention Kenya being chosen to spearhead a similar conference for East Africa.
It is against this backdrop that the ICT Authority will be hosting delegates from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan , Burundi and Rwanda to Connected East Africa on March 30th to April 2nd at the Leisure Lodge Golf and Resort in Kwale County.
Themed the strength is in our networks, the conference will commence discussions on how the region can leverage ICT for full realization of the benefits of the Customs Union (2005) and the Common market (2010) protocols by its regional citizens.
“ICT continues to play a major role in the economic, political, social and cultural development of our country. Technology has increased efficiency, transparency and is cutting costs whether in startups multinational or government. We are now widening the markets to cover more than 150, 000 million residents in the region ,”said Mr. Victor Kyalo ICT Authority Chief Executive Officer.
Kyalo added that integration will help to marshal funds for ICT infrastructure as ICT is usually the last priority as governments marshal resources and prioritize basic amenities.
Addressing gaps in ICT integration and shared infrastructure, accelerating ICT regulation, building support for ongoing infrastructure projects and providing a platform for creating meaningful relationships for the development are some of the objectives of this year’s summit.
Microsoft Kenya Country Manager Mr. Kunle Awosika said: “Connected East Africa will be the platform where stakeholders in the sector will address gaps in the integration os shared infrastructure as well as the harmonization of ICT regulations cross the region.
Microsoft is the title sponsor of the summit and will be supported by other sponsors such as Dimension Data, Liquid Telecom, Seacom among others.