ICT and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo says the ongoing Connected Africa Summit in Nairobi will provide a clear tech roadmap for Africa moving forward.
The CS said the summit will allow African policymakers to discuss emerging issues in the ICT operational environment because of the dynamism in the technological space.
The CS said the summit will at the tail end provide a clear plan on how to deal with merging issues of artificial intelligence and agree as to whether or not we need to regulate AI.
"We are grappling with issues to do with big data, machine learning and issues of cyber security. All these issues require a holistic approach to the continent so that we move in tandem," the CS said.
Owalo made the remarks during the opening of the Connected Africa Summit 2024, at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi.
The CS said the conference will also look at opportunities that exist in the digital space and agree on how the continent can leverage them to especially enhance the level of digital public infrastructure for the continent.
"We need to enhance the level of our fibre connectivity and our internet connectivity so that we have universal access and digital inclusivity," Owallo said.
Owalo said the summit will also explore how to tap more opportunities in the digital space including digital jobs and entrepreneurship.
"This will explore the possibility of Africa becoming a manufacturer of digital enterprises and equipment like smart telephones before we embark on the full hogue of manufacturing computer software and hardware," he said.
At the same time, Owalo called for sound legal and regulatory frameworks to anchor the digital interventions going forward to avoid discordance.
"We therefore need to break the shackles and barriers that we have within Africa so that we have policies and regulations that speak to each other as opposed to being discordant with each other," the CS said.
He said that at the tail end of the summit, policymakers will come up with recommendations as to what Africa needs to do in the global technological space to exploit opportunities in the digital space.
