TALKING

Under the Kenya Master Digitalisation Plan , the government aims to lay out over 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable , install twenty-five thousand hotspots in key business centres , move government operations to the cloud , and accelerate the development of the Konza Technopolis , a smart city project .

Connectivity driven growth has already had an impact on the country ’ s Information Communication Technology , ICT sector . With an annual growth rate of 23 %, exceeding other sectors , the Kenya ICT sector promises to be a significant contributor to the country ’ s GDP and is expected to reach 9.24 % by 2025 .

One of the key catalysts driving this growth is the adoption of cloud services . According to Research ICT Africa , various sectors , such as insurance , fintech , education , and retail , are leveraging cloud storage and applications to enhance services and expand their reach .

However , we are still seeing many sectors with higher data sensitivity like finance and healthcare express concerns over data privacy and security , slowing the broad adoption of cloud infrastructure .

50-55 % of Kenyan jobs will rely on digital skills by 2030 , underscores the urgent need for a robust network infrastructure capable of supporting and encouraging these innovations and new skill sets . Improved network performance will enable smarter , faster and more effective capture and analysis of data that AI tools need while also creating more job roles within the IT industry .

The significance of network infrastructure is further heightened by the growth of data centres across Africa . With demand for data centres projected to outstrip supply by 300 % in the coming years , according to African Infrastructure Investment Managers , Kenya ’ s strategic position as East Africa ’ s largest economy makes it an attractive destination for data centres .

Atef Djmoui , Regional Sales Manager , Middle East and Africa , Extreme Networks

To address these issues , relevant Kenyan bodies need to create frameworks that balance innovation with data protection and safeguard against potential threats . In addition , corporations and industries need to implement the tools and technologies that keep sensitive information well-protected within internal networks .

Take for example , the recent collaboration between Kenya and the UAE to build data centre projects , signalling the emergence of Kenya as a digital hub in the region .

The emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence also promises to revolutionise business operations , offering enterprises in Kenya newfound efficiencies . AI is expected to impact Kenyan industries by automating tasks , delivering proactive recommendations and predictive analytics based on data trends , and allowing self-learning and correction for systems in healthcare , finance , and logistics .

Again , the key to fully harnessing the potential of AI is a strong digital network that can help capture , process and transmit the huge amounts of data needed to run AI-driven solution and applications

This technological advancement , coupled with a growing emphasis on digital literacy as an estimated

www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA 31