Increased automation in the manufacturing sector will deny Kenya an opportunity to export its labour, according to experts.
The country, they say should instead ride on customer service and information technology to outsource jobs.
This comes at a time the country targets a million jobs in the next years three years from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the digital space.
The experts say that customer service based, App development, content moderation for social media platforms and IT services opportunities will grant Kenyans a greater chance of penetrating the global market compared to other sectors.
The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) chairman of Digital Skills and Values sub-sector David Waithaka notes that with high population growth, meaningful jobs are increasingly becoming scarce and there should be a genuine reason to worry.
He said for a country that intends to create jobs, developing as an Outsourcing Hub for foreign companies is the way to go since the world has become a global village, thanks to advancements in technology.
With the government having included a 15 percent digital tax in the Finance Bill the Waithaka said the government should consider incentives for such emerging opportunities.
“Tax policies should also be responsive to the needs to be able to protect such new opportunities and provide value for this enterprise growth,” said Waithaka.
With close to one million graduates entering the job market annually, unemployment has surged leaving the government has embarked on initiatives and programmes that encourage self-employment.
“Digital economy means that we are operating within a larger market than potentially we are seeing physically and so the policies must start to reflect this new nuances that are coming in,” said Waithaka.
The initiative by the Ajira Digital programme aims at tapping Kenya's cheap labour to grow the BPO sector locally.
The comparative low cost of living compared to Western countries means Kenyans can offer services at reduced thus driving down the operational costs of companies.
The Business Process Outsourcing Association of Kenya chairperson Roselyn Maundu added that Kenya is one of the 10 fastest growing digital economies in the world.
“I think the ambition really is to drive that growth upwards. We see that even at 20 percent year on year here that is not impressive because the numbers we're talking about is about 30,000 jobs. Currently. We are looking forward to creating a million jobs,” said the Maundu.
