The Covid-19 pandemic triggered one of Kenya’s worst jobs crises, but a recent surge in new employment opportunities from international tech giants offers a glimmer of hope. Just last month, the Google CEO announced 100 tech jobs in Nairobi after opening its first product development centre in Africa, headquartered in Nairobi.
Google joins Microsoft, which also launched its Africa Development Centre in Nairobi last month. In February Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon, announced plans to launch AWS local zone cloud infrastructure in Kenya over the next two years.
The local zones will allow more public and private organisations and innovative start-ups to deliver a new generation of leading-edge applications to end-users.
Innovation leads to job creation and is a powerful driver of economic growth. With a burgeoning tech-savvy youth population, it is vital that Kenya accelerates its efforts to support the tech sector.
According to the UN Medium variant projection for the country, Kenya’s total population will increase from an estimated 55 million to 115 million by 2065. The corresponding population of youth between 15 and 24 will increase from 9.5 million to 18 million.
A high youth population has been a key asset for national economies elsewhere and the youth in Kenya are no different – if they are provided with the right opportunities.
We are starting to see positive changes, particularly when it comes to support for tech-savvy youth from secondary cities such as Kisumu, Eldoret and Mombasa.
The Place-Based Innovation (PBI) programme by Global Alliance Africa, for example, is nurturing and scaling homegrown innovative solutions that meet local problems. Global Alliance Africa has been working closely with Eldohub, Eldoret’s local innovation hub, the County government of Uasin Gishu, and other partners to create meaningful employment opportunities for a more tech-savvy workforce.
Kenya has witnessed transformational change over the last decade with the rise of fintech, health-tech, insur-tech, agri-tech, eCommerce and smart transport, retail and delivery solutions. Improved infrastructure and easier access to the internet has changed how Kenyans consume media and, as a result, created increased learning opportunities for ‘techies’.
The pandemic has forced more consumers and businesses online, in the search for entertainment, news, better communication tools, and access to services and tech solutions. As a result, Kenya has become an attractive place for incubation hubs and accelerators, which are crucial for new tech start-ups.
Over the last decade, innovation spaces such as the iHub, which was founded in Nairobi in 2010, have incubated over 170 start-ups. But when we look beyond Nairobi, sadly, tech hubs outside of the busy capital still face challenges that deter growth and make it more difficult to scale to the size of iHub. Lack of capital to implement ideas, slow internet and inability to market their homegrown solutions all take their toll.
Tech hubs in secondary cities need more funding than those in Nairobi for many reasons, so it is encouraging to see that some investors and accelerators are now specifically targeting innovators in rural areas.
One example is Katapult VC, which is setting up accelerators and investment vehicles for start-ups within agritech and food tech in rural communities in Kenya. New hubs are also beginning to appear in other towns, such LakeHub in Kisumu, Mt.Kenya Hub in Nyeri and Ubunifu in Machakos.
The Kenya National Innovation Authority (KENIA), now partnering with Global Alliance Africa, is developing great initiatives to strengthen networks between stakeholders to promote innovation and enterprise development. KENIA works with local and international multipliers to ensure appropriate prioritisation, capacity development and recognition of Kenyan innovation.
Last year’s Kenya Innovation Week, KENIA’s flagship innovation forum for the whole country, was just one example. The week successfully brought together representatives from local government, development and private sector partners, media and civil societies to celebrate local and international innovations and discuss different ways to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Notably, the one-week event has since been followed by a series of other county events, including Pwani Innovation Week and Machakos Innovation Week.
By bringing together local governments, universities, research centres, private sector companies, development agencies, as well as innovation and incubation hubs, these events help counties work out how they will improve innovation in their own areas. They signify a great milestone in improving the national innovation ecosystem and regional networks, which is something that needs to happen if we want to bring innovation to our local communities.
Despite extraordinary challenges during the pandemic, the tech and innovation sector has seen new innovations in various industries that continue to attract investment into the country.
This is true for regional hubs as well as Nairobi-based innovators. Solving problems is the inspiration point for most innovators, whether it is facilitating access to customers in lock-down, unable to travel or to socialise, providing services online that previously required physical attendance, or fixing a problem in the local community.
The pandemic could be a blessing in disguise for Kenya’s future growth. The innovative ideas that have emerged will chart a path for future tech-based communities. The Covid-19 pandemic demanded we change the patterns of our lives overnight, forcing millions to stay in their homes for months on end, spending most of their time online seeking information and access to services.
As global medical equipment companies struggled to meet demand for ventilators right after Covid-19 hit, a group of 16 students from Kenyatta University developed a prototype ventilator in just seven days. Positive examples of innovations like these that challenge present norms and practices, and rethink the role of innovators and innovation spaces, are becoming more common.
Kenya will emerge resilient from the pandemic if national and county governments are supportive of decentralised innovation plans to encourage tech communities to come up with long-term local solutions specific to each county’s challenges.
The power of innovation is clear, but we need a long-term plan to provide better resources for strategic innovation in the country. With this in place, we can make sure tech-savvy entrepreneurs across Kenya are fully supported to create innovative products and services that are sustainable and useful to local communities.
