August 15th 2019

By Cheruiyot Korir

The government will plans to roll out campaigns to sensitise Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on need to digitise to strengthen their market positions and enable the enterprises conquer new markets, Principal Secretary for ICT Jerome Ochieng, has said.

Mr Ochieng said, the program include urging the SMEs to set up a user-friendly portals to improve the visibility of available funding programmes and reach out to a broader range of prospective recipients to enable them scale up their businesses.

“Our goal as a Ministry is to get our small and mid-size companies to actively engage in the digitization process so they can strengthen their market positions in the future and conquer new markets,” said the PS

The Principal Secretary said the enterprises will be provided with business support that will include analysis and consultancy and organizational development activities among others. He said that the government will make effort to connect inclusive businesses to broadband to enable the enterprise utilise ICT solutions and innovations.

Mr Jerome noted that, over the past six years, the government has developed responsive policies and legislations, which have been passed by Parliament or are in the final stages. He said, some of the policy and legislative frameworks include: review of the National ICT Policy, data Privacy and Protection, Access to Information and computer and Cyber Security Act among others.

He said the ICT Sector has witnessed a remarkable success in Kenya both socially and economically, noting that the internet penetration in the country stands at 86%, which makes Kenya among the highest in Africa.

The Principal Secretary added that the growth and success of mobile money in Kenya has been unprecedented. He said, the mobile money has uplifted thousands of Kenyans out of poverty and directly contributed to the economic growth.