7th August, 2020
THE KENYA GAZETTE
4. Overview of the Policy
This policy is designed to realise the potential of the digital
economy by creating an enabling environment for all citizens and
stakeholders. A review of the 2006 policy was necessitated by the
rapid changes and developments in the ICT sector, evolving global
trends and the fast-changing public needs. The Fourth Industrial
Revolution is driving automation and massive data exchange,
impacting our macro and microenvironments and increasing the level
of ICT consumption worldwide. It is for this reason that we are setting
up a policy designed to take advantage of these changes and trends that
will enable Kenya to become a more prosperous participant in the
global economy. The ICT Policy defines the forward-looking position
of the Government on various areas of the evolving ICT sector
landscape in Kenya.
The policy objectives:
¢
Create the infrastructure conditions that enable the use
always-on, high speed, wireless, internet across the country.
of
¢
Facilitate the creation of infrastructure and frameworks that
support the growth of data centres, pervasive instrumentation
(Internet of Things), machine learning and local manufacturing
while fostering a secure, innovation ecosystem.
*
Grow the contribution of ICT to increase the overall size of the
digital and traditional economy to 10% of GDP by 2030, by
using ICT as a foundation for the creation of a more robust
economy, providing secure income and livelihoods to the
citizenry. Leverage regional and international cooperation and
engagements to ensure that Kenya is able to harness global
opportunities.
*
Position the country to take advantage of emerging trends such
as the shared and gig economy, by enhancing our education
institutions and the skills of our people and by fostering an
innovation and start-up ecosystem that is able lead in the
adoption of emerging trends on a global scale.
*
Gain global recognition for innovation, efficiency and quality
in public service delivery. Government services will be
delivered in a manner that ensures we have a prosperous, free,
open and stable society.
In light of the policy objectives outlined, this policy will focus on 4
key areas:
4.1
1.
Mobile First
2.
Market
3.
Skills and Innovation
4.
Public Service Delivery
Mobile First
The heavy investment by Government in internet connectivity
infrastructure has enabled access by 99.9% of our citizenry, mostly via
mobile phones. Internet access anywhere and at any time is pivotal to
the successful growth of a knowledge economy. The Government will
continue to invest in infrastructure for universal, always-on, high
speed, wireless data connectivity for every citizen.
The government takes cognisance of the global trend of ubiquitous
computing which shows that the world is going mobile people want to
access the internet anywhere and at any time. In recognition of this
trend, this policy will drive a mobile first approach, ensuring that
every Kenyan has reasonable access by focusing on mobile and
wireless infrastructure. The government will provide the network;
storage and processing infrastructure frameworks and guidelines that
will see Kenya successfully compete on a global scale. This will
include:
1. Investments in the infrastructure needed for work such as data
centres, hardware, software, telecommunications, networks and
broadcasting
2. Creating an enabling environment for the local assembly and
manufacturing of devices
3.
Strengthening of our payments and logistics infrastructure
4. Growth
global reach
and
adoption
of local
e-commerce
platforms
with
3065
5. Provision of trusted security and certification infrastructure for
all electronic communication and transactions
6.
Accessible news and media platforms both offline and online
7. Affordable
audience data
marketing and advertising platforms
with quality
8. Providing an all inclusive ICT environment. by encouraging
gender equality and accessibility to persons with disabilities
9. Co-ordination and cooperation with international systems and
platforms for global reach
4.2 Market
By the year 2030, Kenya will have an estimated population of
66M, with over 200M devices and sensors connected to the Internet.
All aspects of our lives including money, security, governance,
agriculture, tourism, education and health will be fully and seamlessly
integrated into the digital economy. Technology is and will continue to
catapult the growth of globalisation and trade across borders. Through
regional and international integration, the market will be global. The
Government recognises, and will leverage our youth demographic as
our competitive advantage in the global market. Over 1M youth enter
the job market every year; the Government will use ICTs as an enabler
in providing dignity and financial stability to our youth.
This policy aims to increase the overall size of ICT contribution to
the digital and traditional economy to 10% of GDP by 2030. In doing
so, this policy will provide a blueprint for creating things, rules and
money.
Things: For those who want to develop devices, applications and
deliver services to the Kenyan populace, the market will be massive;
blocks such as Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA),
East African Community (EAC), theSmart Africa
Alliance and the African Continental Free Trade Area will open up
regional, continental and global markets. We will take advantage of
the Internet of Things (IoT) and the entire infrastructure laid out in our
Mobile First objective to scale our local businesses beyond our
borders. The Government will encourage the use of our unique culture
and languages to grow our technology ecosystem and elevate our
businesses to compete at a global level. It will promote the adoption
and use of the dot KE country level domain name and set up the
frameworks needed to ensure that Kenyan goods and services are of
quality and in high demand globally in order to attract superior prices.
Rules: This policy will form the basis for the regulation of
converged industry; the rules that we set up will provide an enabling
environment that is secure, open and transparent. It will define a
competition framework to encourage and protect investments, enforce
employment and taxation rules to drive growth and define the
supporting business infrastructure that allows citizens and the world to
do business with Kenyans. This includes such things as identity
management, cryptography and block chain, and the extension of
traditional laws, regulations and norms to the online space. As we
move towards a knowledge-based economy, the Government will
enable access to information to every citizen by encouraging the
private sector to publish statistics that will enable the SME market to
take advantage of trends. This policy will promote the availability of
relevant audience and demographic data to inform the marketing
strategies of businesses, and labour market information to inform
educators and employers. Due to the convergence of infrastructure and
services, the Government will restructure the regulator to enable
convergence in the regulation of the ICT industry, allowing for
diversity in infrastructure, content and services offerings all in line
with the Constitution. This will allow for the early adoption of
emerging trends, such as over-the-top providers (OTTs), convergence
and rapid changes in the sector. This area highlights the guidance of
government on practice and procedure, and the creation of an
overarching architecture for the industry.
Money: The medium of exchange for goods and services is digital
and traditional forms of money. Kenya is currently the global leader in
mobile money with over 70% of the adult population using these
services. This policy aims to promote Kenya as the fintech
infrastructure hub for the region, and use money strategically to direct
the market towards the attainment of national goals. This policy seeks
to create a digital environment where money creates value quickly by
moving rapidly and efficiently through the business transaction cycle.
The fintech opportunities and infrastructure will provide an enabling
environment for businesses to raise capital, list on the Nairobi