(Ecofin Agency) - ICTs are at the heart of the Kenyan government's socio-economic development strategy. For the 2022/2023 fiscal year, the executive budgeted $112 million for the ICT sector. 

The Kenyan government will dedicate Ksh15.1 billion ($108.4 million) to fund projects in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in the 2023/2024 fiscal year. This was revealed by Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung'u (photo), during budget reading in Parliament on Thursday, June 15.

Key allocations include Ksh4.8 billion for phase 1 of the horizontal infrastructure at Konza City, Ksh1.2 billion for the Konza data center and smart city facilities, and Ksh5.7 billion for the construction of the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) at Konza Technopolis. They also include Ksh1.3 billion for the maintenance and refurbishment of the National Optic Fibre backbone phase 2 expansion cable, Ksh475 million for the construction of phase 1B of the Konza complex, and Ksh583 million for the county's last mile connectivity network.

The budget allocated to the ICT sector for the 2023/2024 fiscal year is slightly down compared with the Ksh15.6 billion budgeted for the sector in the 2022/2023 fiscal year. It nevertheless reflects the Kenyan government's stated vision of leveraging digital technologies for socioeconomic development in the country.  Accordingly, several investments are planned in partnership with the private sector to make the country a reference when it comes to digital transformation in Africa by 2027. 

"The implementation of interventions in the ICT department will improve the economy by offering employment, and good connectivity. The Digital superhighway will play a critical role in enabling the government to achieve the objectives of the bottom-up economic transformational agenda," said Mr. Ndung'u.

Isaac K. Kassouwi