The government intends to assist micro and small businesses in digitizing their operations by providing free Internet access and assisting them in developing vital business skills on the global web.
Eliud Owalo, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, stated this at the launch of a free WIFI hotspot at Nairobi’s City Market.
The CS advised the MSE sector to fully utilize the digital hubs that the government is establishing across the country and to embrace the E-commerce concept.
Over the next ten years, the Kenya Kwanza Government plans to construct up to 250,00 free hotspots around the country.
“Our vision is to create a reliable and secure high-speed digital infrastructure, as the avenue for the envisaged transformation,” he said, “To achieve this, we also need to develop digital business skills and transform traditional businesses to digital enterprises.”
The Kenya Kwanza Government intends to convert the whole country into one giant network of digital hubs, through provisions of hotspots, said Owalo.
The Nairobi City Market hotspot has been up for a month in testing mode, alongside ten other hotspots in various parts of the city of Nairobi. The CS said that all 11 platforms have proved to be stable and reliable.
“As the Ministry of IC-DE, we are confident that we are off to a solid start,” he said.
Other hotspots will be set up at various markets within the city and elsewhere in the country. “We will take the hotspots to schools, hospitals, and to all major government and public installations,” he said.
He disclosed that the hotspot connectivity was the start of the fulfillment of the promise by President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza government to include in the national digital economy the people living at the lowest levels of the social and economic ladder.
“The notion of uplifting the hustler population through the digital economy is a practical commitment of President William Ruto government,” he stated.
