The government is now urging the private sector to consider setting up data centres at the Konza technopolis.

Speaking at the Connected Kenya Summit 2023 Stakeholders conference in Nairobi on Wednesday, ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo assured of the government's commitment to delivering on the Konza project as part of the digital economy agenda.

The ICT CS pointed out that infrastructure has already been set in place to actualise the smart city dream. 

“Within the Konza technopolis, we already have the best minimum infrastructure that is requisite for a smart city. We are dealing with the private sector to invest within Konza. We already have fully pledged data there,” said the CS.

He added: “Quite a number of government institutions and agencies are storing their data there. We want the private sector to not only store data but explore the possibility of additional data centres."

According to CS Owalo, the digital platform between the Government and the Private Sector has seen the Connected Forum grow from a small meeting in 2009, to the regional ICT giant it is today.

"Our collective efforts in digital technology have placed Kenya on the global map as a leading ICT hub” CS Owalo said.

Themed: The Digital Economy: Endless opportunities shaping the future, this year’s Connected Kenya Summit conference comes at a time when Kenya has positioned itself as an e-Commerce and digital services hub not only in the region but in Africa.

The Kenyan government has continued to build on this to address the digital divide challenge through the provision of accessible and affordable broadband connectivity to all citizens so that they can participate in the digital economy.

Konza technopolis is among the digitization development programmes in the country and is a key flagship of Kenya’s Vision 2030 world-class city.

Improved connectivity within the country is set to be done through Wi-Fi hotspot.

“We will give proper access to everyone, especially those who have been disadvantaged from an access perspective. When we map out the map of Kenya in terms of Faiba connectivity, we realise that connectivity is only concentrated in a very small area in our country," said ICT Authority CEO Stanley Kamanguya.

He added: "We want to provide connectivity in those areas and loan the cause of connectivity."

The ICT Authority has a board mandate that entails enforcing ICT standards in government and enhancing the supervision of its electronic communication.