In the decade since the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (MoICT) was established, the ICT sector has grown from virtually non-existent into an important component of the economy. According to the latest government statistics, for the quarter ended September 2013, mobile and internet penetration rates have reached 76.9% and 47.1%, respectively.
Insufficient infrastructure has been the biggest constraint to continued expansion. To this end, in July 2013 the government launched the National Broadband Strategy (NBS), a joint product of the MoICT and the Communications Commission of Kenya, the sector’s regulator, with an overall objective of providing broadband access to 100% of the population. More than half of its $2.8bn budget is allocated to building infrastructure, with the balance directed towards capacity building and content development.
The proposed funding sources include a broadband infrastructure bond and venture capital fund, in addition to an increasing ICT’s share of the government budget from 0.5% to 5%.
Fred Matiang’i, the cabinet secretary for the MoICT, told OBG the support of the private sector will be necessary to realise the goals of the NBS. “We need to come up with a framework that will facilitate the role of the private sector in the development of digital infrastructure. Given the demand on our labour and financial sources, we will not be able to do this alone,” he said.
Harnessing ICT for development in Kenya
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