National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula wants the US government to help Kenya realize the dream of being Africa’s premier technology and innovation hub by committing to enhance the financing of its Sh963.6 billion Silicon Savannah project.
Speaker Wetang’ula made the appeal to the US government when he hosted American Ambassador to Kenya Ms Margret Whitman in his office within parliament buildings.
The Speaker noted that Kenya’s commitment to boost the project on a 5,000-acre land through partnership with development partners, is to ensure the growth of technology and innovation ecosystem in the country that will be impactful with the East African region and beyond.
"America is one of the top countries in the world in technological and innovation development. Their support for the Silicon Savannah project is good not just for Kenya alone but African and beyond," said Speaker Wetang'ula as Ms Whitman said the US is keen to ensure the development of Kenya.
Despite the poverty and political instability challenges, Kenya has enjoyed faster broadband connections than South Africa, Africa’s economic powerhouse.
The name “Silicon Savannah” refers to the tech ecosystem in Kenya and draws from the US San Francisco’s Silicon Valley.
The name was initially associated with the Konza Techno City project but has come to represent the greater tech and innovation movement in the country.
Currently, the heart of Silicon Savannah lies within tech startups, hubs and civic innovations in Nairobi’s Kilimani area and Ngong road region.
While pushing for the enhanced funding of the project, Speaker Wetang’ula said that Kenya has enjoyed a good bilateral relationship with the US dating back to pre-independence and that the Kenyan parliament can only guard the cooperation between the two sovereign states for the benefit of its citizens.
President William Ruto has on several occasions stated Kenya Kwanza’s agenda of putting Kenya on the global map on matters ICT and innovation to spur economic growth as well as serve the needs of people, especially young entrepreneurial minds.
Noting that Kenya is a globally recognized hub in innovation and technology, Speaker Wetang'ula noted that Kenya's Parliament appreciates the support the project was receiving from the US government and that there is need to up the partnership to enable the Kenyan government succeed.
The Speaker reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza government is committed to supporting the initiative to deal with the rising number of unemployed youths who have shifted base to Nairobi and other urban areas.
"Nairobi has grown into an important global player in the ICT and technology industry over the last few years. The US is also the leading development partner in regional peace and security alongside multilateral cooperation," he said, adding that Parliament will enact laws to support the government's agenda.
Ms Whitman said the US is engaged in many development projects in the country and is even willing to support even more local programmes to lift the living standards of Kenyans.
"I thank Speaker Wetang’ula for hosting me for this important meeting. We will continue to engage with a view of opening more avenues for opportunities for Kenyans," said Ms Whitman, stating that Parliament of Kenya is a key institution in supporting bilateral relations between the two countries.
