Embrace digital economy, Konza City boss challenges youth

The youth have been urged to embrace the new digital economy as the world continues evolving at an incredible speed, driven by technology.

Konza Technopolis chief executive officer John Paul Okwiri said the digital economy is a new era of global economic development revolutionising people's work and life.

He said it is imperative, especially for the youth, to embrace it and work to stay at the forefront of this ever-changing world of technology to maximise its potential for economic transformation of the country.

“At Konza Technopolis, we recognise the pivotal role that youth, who form a majority of our country’s population, can play in shaping a sustainable and prosperous future for our nation and the world when they are well equipped, well empowered and well supported,” Okwiri said.

“It is in this regard, therefore, that we have not only sought to build a Smart city, but also recognise the need to nurture an ecosystem that fosters innovation, and creativity and empowers our youth to become the leaders of today and tomorrow in this ambition towards an empowered digital economy.”

Okwiri was speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday as he gave his address to the youth during the third day of the Pwani Innovation Week at the Swahilipot Hub Foundation.

The Konza CEO said they were focused on the development of a robust knowledge economy and innovation ecosystem.

This he said was being achieved by connecting, convening and catalysing an environment that allows startups and SMEs to thrive in partnership with other actors in the ecosystem.

To do this, Okwiri said, they were championing the Konza Innovation Ecosystem Initiative a comprehensive programme that is focused on skills and talent development for the 4th industrial revolution.

“We are focused on equipping our young people with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in the digital age,” Okwiri said.

Konza in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Communications, and The Digital Economy, along with the ICT Authority and the Technical Vocational Education Training Authority, is spearheading the Jitume Digital Enablement Programme across the country.

Launched in December last year, the programme has seen over 70,000 young people benefit from the opportunities presented by the over 120 Jitume centres deployed in the country so far.

“I am pleased to note that we are working to deploy a Jitume Center here at Swahili pot hub. This facility will be a centre for learning and work enabled by technology.”

“Our plan is that within the next three to five years and working with our partners, we shall have enabled job opportunities for 1 million youth in Kenya, allowing them to take full advantage of this transformative opportunity,” he said.

The initiative he said was also focused on unleashing the potential of the creative economy (Orange Economy) as they acknowledged the power of this sector in a digital economy.

He said they have embarked on a journey to develop the Konza Digital Media City which will be the hub for creatives in tech.

Konza, he said, was developing a state-of-the-art infrastructure to position Kenya as Africa’s creative economy hub.

“Likewise, we are keen to support creatives to ensure the quality of content and platforms that can lead to content monetisation,” Okwiri said.

He added that the initiative also aims to support startups and SMEs because the digital economy calls for digital-driven business.

Mombasa County Executive for Tourism, culture and Trade Mohammed Osman said even as the country speaks of young people accessing economic opportunities, it is important to have the necessary know-how to harness these opportunities.

“Opportunities are best utilised by those with the know-how, and this doesn’t always imply academia, because even a young person who for one reason or another did not attend school, can still access vocational training that equips them with a set of skills,” Osman said.

He said Mombasa is a city with a lot of untapped business opportunities but not all of them may be white-collar jobs.  However, there are opportunities in the blue, green and orange economies that the youth can tap into and make a living from, he added.

Osman said the county was keen on tailor-making economic solutions through the creation of avenues where the youth can make money through cultural tourism.

“Mombasa, is immensely blessed with a vibrant culture and we all know that the ideology that the people of the Coast are inherently lazy is one propagated by those who do not wish to see us prosper, and events like Pwani Innovation Week are key in killing this negativity,” he said.