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Investment in Focus: The Evolving Information Technology in Kenya

BY Juma · August 31, 2016 08:08 am

The technological world is ever changing. The wind of change is ever sweeping across the globe. The train already left the station and those not already on board are never likely to catch up. Kenya has not been left behind in terms of the Information Technology revolution.

Information Technology is one of the key sectors in the economic development of any given country. According to International Trade Centre, Kenya had a total of 12 million internet users in the year 2018 with the urban internet penetration standing at 78 percent, mobile penetration at 72 percent and 31 percent of all mobile phones in the urban areas being smartphones.

According to the report released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) for 2015/2016, the uptake of mobile services by Kenyans continued to grow. Mobile penetration stood at 88.1 percent with 37.8 million subscribers up from 36.1 million in the previous quarter. The report goes on to say that the Internet/data market registered 21.6 million subscriptions up from 19.9 million in the last quarter. The number of Internet users grew to 31.9 million from 29.6 million in the previous quarter. Consequently, the portion of the Kenyan population accessing Internet services reached 74.2 per 100 inhabitants up from 69.0 per 100 inhabitants recorded in the previous quarter.

Internet Live Stats, on the other hand gives a more broad insight on how the IT sector is evolving in Kenya. According to them, Kenya has 21,248,977 internet users by the year 2016 and the number is still growing. This penetration in terms of internet takes 45 percent of the share of Kenya’s total population. According to the stats, Kenya contributes 0.6 percent share to the world internet user. Internet users in the world currently are at 3,424,971,237.

The table below shows how internet users have been growing in Kenya since 2003:

IT1

From the table above, the number of internet users has been increasing tremendously over the years.

The line graph below shows how internet penetration has been in Kenya since 2003:

IT2

Internet penetration in Kenya has been increasing with the increase in population. For instance, in the year 2003, Kenya had a population of 33,551,079 with an internet penetration of 987,040 (2.9 percent) and in 2016, the population is approximately 47.3 million with an internet penetration of 21, 248,977 (45 percent).

The image below shows the percentage change of the Kenyan population since the year 2003:

IT3

What are some of the sectors that one can invest in in the IT sector in Kenya?

The following are some of the opportunities available in the IT sector in Kenya that are yet to be fully exploited:

The following are Investment opportunities within the sector

  • Data Centre and Disaster Recovery Center
  • Deploying of Digital Broadcast Network
  • Rolling out of E-government services
  • Government Applications which include production and processing of national identity cards/passport, driver’s license, motor vehicle log books, payroll, pension, land information system/local authorities and rates collection.
  • National ID (Third Generation) project
  • Births and Deaths Registration
  • Visa Issuing System to be installed in all border control points.
  • The cross border management has a potential for investment in aliens registration and monitoring.
  • Multimedia Technology Parks (MTPs)
  • Software and Hardware Development
  • Manufacture of Communication Equipment in the security sector
  • Big markets in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)/ITES(IT Enabled Services) industries \
  • Existence of international ICT companies locally
  • Existence of terrestrial and submarine fibre networks for broadband connectivity
  • Vibrant private sector and stakeholders
  • Untapped potential in local and regional markets
  • Increased adoption of ICT in work and social places
  • Increased government support

 

Juma is an enthusiastic journalist who believes that journalism has power to change the world either negatively or positively depending on how one uses it. (020) 528 0222 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com

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