Kenya’s global status in IT sector grows

Kenya’s stature in the technology world is growing globally as it prepares to host a major international conference this year, the second in as many years.

Kenya will host the Sixth International Governance Forum in September at the United Nations offices in Gigiri, Nairobi.

Information PS Bitange Ndemo says the forum will share insights into the potential of the Internet and its governance.

The forum is a follow-up of the World Summit on the Information Society, which took place in Tunis in 2005.

“We proudly look forward to hosting yet another significant Internet governance process in Kenya,” says Alice Munyua, chair of the Kenya organising committee.

Last March, Nairobi hosted the 37th Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers global meeting.

At the time, the organisation’s chief executive and president Rod Beckstrom said Kenya had provided the best internet connection compared to the venues for all the previous meetings.

“We will use Nairobi as a benchmark for future meetings,” said Mr Beckstrom.

The five previous meetings of the forum were held in Athens, Greece, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Hyderabad, India, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and Vilnius, Lithuania.

Kenya’s information communication technology sector has grown by double digits, prompting the World Bank to project that the country is at a ‘tipping point’ for a possible economic boom.

Major IT innovations include crisis monitoring Ushahidi and global winner M-pesa, the mobile money transfer service.

There have also been huge investments in fibre optic cables and the proposed technology city.