Trade and Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has said in the next six months, Kenyan telcos will produce their first smartphone.
Speaking at a conference in South Korea, Kuria said Safaricom, Airtel, Telcom Kenya, Jamii Telcom, have come together to produce the first Kenyan handset.
He said they are trying to woo other counties into the project so that it will not be a one-time thing.
"We are trying to woo MTN and South Africa into that project so that it does not become just the Kenyan phone but Kenya becomes the home of a truly African phone," he said.
"We mean business and we are going to reverse this trade. I want the next time we have this bilateral trade."
President William Ruto had said Kenya will be the biggest producer of Africa's cheapest smartphones in the next year.
Speaking during the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Annual General meeting, Ruto said the government is in talks to see that this comes to pass.
"The real last mile in technology is the gadget and we are already working with our telecommunications sector so that we can have a smartphone that is going to be less than Sh5,000.
"A smartphone that can do everything that you want," the President said.
Ruto added that in the discussions with Telcos, they are also exploring the possibility of having the smartphones sold cheaply.
