President William Ruto has announced that American multinational tech company Oracle Corporation will set up a regional data center in the country.
Ruto made the announcement in a statement on January 31, after meeting a delegation of senior officials from the company.
The Nairobi data center will be the second of its kind in Africa, according to the announcement by the Head of State.
“American technology company Oracle Corporation has announced it will set up a regional data center in Kenya. It will be the second such data center in Africa,” said Ruto.
The president was flanked by, among others, ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo and a delegation from Oracle led by Senior Vice-President (OCI Product and Industries) Scott Twaddle.
According to the head of state, the announcement underscores the tech company’s commitment to Africa.
“It is aimed at driving the digital transformation of government, public institutions, businesses and start-ups in Kenya,” the President added.
Additionally, President Ruto noted that his government will continue to facilitate technology companies seeking to set up their footprints in Africa.
He further noted that his government has been keen on ensuring the country maintains its position as the prime destination for tech companies.
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“In line with the government’s strategy to lay 100,000km of fiber optic, provide digital jobs and digitize government services, Kenya continues to be a prime destination for international IT companies,” he said.
In 2015, Oracle opened its regional offices in Nairobi’s Westlands area at the Delta Building.
The American company with its roots in Texas specializes in developing computer hardware and software.
Ruto unveils digital master plan
This comes after the government unveiled a plan to build 1,450 ICT hubs around the country as part of its efforts to implement the Digital Master Plan 2022-2032.
During the unveiling, CS Owalo emphasized the significance of this development in laying a stronger foundation for ICT-related development and the digital economy.
“Imagine at one digital hub, we are capable of creating 300 digital jobs. In a constituency that has an average of five wards, we are capable of creating 1,500 youths in the village.
As much as these hubs will be domiciled in the village, the youth there shall be working with both national and international firms,” he said.
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In the digital master plan, the four main pillars are digital infrastructure, data management, digital services and digital skills, and encouraging digital innovation for entrepreneurship.
Also, the plan has seen the president open up various digital hubs across the country in the aim of creating 1,450 information and communication hubs.
This is in line with the digital infrastructure pillar, which also entails the installation of 25,000 hotspots in public spaces and important business centers.
Kenyan made phones
In October 2023, the president unveiled the East Africa Device Assembly Kenya (EADAK) in Mavoko, Machakos County.
The tech firm was tasked with assembling locally made smartphones, with the president labelling it as an opportunity for Kenyans to acquire jobs.
During the ceremony, newly launched smartphones were unveiled, with a unique feature of the e-Citizen Services (GavaMkononi) App coming as pre-installed app.
Among the phones launched were the ‘Neon Smarta’ and ‘Neon Ultra’ models, crafted by the East Africa Device Assembly Kenya (EADAK) company.