Kenya partners with Huawei to drive digital transformation agenda

Back left to right: Huawei Board of Directors Chairman Liang Hua and President William Ruto. Ruto witnessed the signing of an MoU with Huawei to promote a digital economy. [PCS]

Kenya has partnered with Chinese multinational technology firm, Huawei to advance the digital transformation agenda in the country.

In a high-level event in Beijing, China on Monday, October 16, President William Ruto witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kenya and Huawei, aimed at enhancing the digitisation of various sectors of the economy.

Kenya hopes that key sectors such as education, ICT infrastructure, e-government, digital energy, and others will benefit from the agreement, as she seeks to stand tall among her peers in the East Africa region in digital technology.

President William Ruto at the MoU signing ceremony in Huawei's Executive Briefing Center in Beijing, China. [Via Huawei]

"We recognise the urgent need to develop a green, digital, and creative economy in Kenya. We look forward to strengthening the partnership with Huawei for more positive outcomes of the ICT infrastructure construction and industrial digitalization," said Ruto.

Huawei Board of Directors Chairperson Liang Hua is optimistic that the relationship between the government and the global giant technology firm will yield good results, more so in advancing digital skills and literacy in Kenya.

"We hope to facilitate Kenya's development in fields like ICT connectivity infrastructure, national data center and solar power generation. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to improving young Kenyans' digital skills and literacy," said Hua.

Huawei Board of Directors Chairperson Liang Hua. [Via Huawei]

One of Kenya Kwanza's key agendas is to digitally empower Kenyans through the ICT agenda. The government has since onboarded over 5,000 services accessible online through the recently revamped e-Citizen platform.

The aim, according to Ruto, is to improve service delivery and enhance transparency and accountability, whilst boosting the digital economy.