Kenya is producing more than one million smartphones annually, Molo MP and National Assembly Finance Committee Chairperson Kuria Kimani said on Thursday, defending President William Ruto's recent remarks that the country is manufacturing phones and computers.
Speaking in the National Assembly during debate on tax measures affecting the technology sector, Kimani said local assembly and manufacturing of digital devices has grown significantly and is creating jobs for young people while positioning Kenya as an emerging technology production hub.
He said the government intends to maintain favourable tax treatment for locally assembled smartphones and related devices to support the industry's growth and competitiveness.
“It is important to note that when the President said that Kenya is manufacturing phones and laptops, some people said that was a lie,” Kimani said.
“It is important to tell Kenyans that we have companies in this country that produce more than one million smartphones per year.”
According to the MP, local firms involved in smartphone production include M-KOPA, Safaricom-backed assembly initiatives and institutions that have ventured into technology manufacturing and assembly.
Kimani said Kenya has progressed beyond being purely a consumer of technology products and is increasingly participating in the production and export of digital devices.
“We have grown as a country that now we are exporting smartphones, we are exporting laptops and we are exporting computer-enabled devices,” he said.
The legislator argued that maintaining a zero-rated tax regime for locally manufactured or assembled smartphones would help sustain the sector's competitiveness against imported devices.
“This is going to continue making it easy for our own locally manufactured smartphones and other phones to be very competitive in the market,” Kimani said.
He added that the incentives would also support employment creation, particularly for young people working in technology assembly plants and related industries.
The remarks come weeks after President Ruto said Kenya was manufacturing phones and computers during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, a statement that sparked debate online and among some critics who questioned the scale of local production.
Speaking at the summit on May 11, Ruto said Kenya had made significant progress in building a digital economy and was positioning itself as a regional technology and innovation hub.
“We are manufacturing in Kenya a lot of digital assets, phones and computers,” the President said.
Ruto linked the country's digital ambitions to broader investments in connectivity infrastructure, education and technology-driven economic growth.
He noted that Kenya had laid about 30,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable and was investing heavily in digital infrastructure to support innovation, entrepreneurship and access to information.
The President also said the government had reoriented the education system towards competency-based learning, with greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects to prepare young people for the digital economy.
Kimani's defence of the President's remarks comes as Parliament considers measures aimed at supporting local manufacturing and value addition, with the government increasingly positioning technology assembly and production as part of its industrialisation agenda.
The MP maintained that continued policy support would enable Kenya to expand its manufacturing capacity, increase exports and create more employment opportunities in the technology sector.
