Giving Credit Where It is Due: Kudos to the Government of Kenya for Microsoft and Huawei Deals
In Pursuit of Expanding The Silicon Savannah
Hello esteemed reader đ
Welcome to Not an Afterthought, where we lead the conversation on using technology to drive visible change that makes Africa not an afterthought.
Subscribe to join this growing community of change-makers.
In a recent webinar organized by Africa No Filter, Bogolo Kanewendo, the former cabinet minister of trade in Botswana, made a sobering statement.
She said that governments do not and cannot create jobs; they only facilitate an environment for jobs to be created.
It reminded me of a phrase Kenyans are fond ofâserikali saidia. It is Kiswahili for âgovernment of Kenya, please help us.â
The reality is that governments can only do so much. It is up to the citizens of a nation to take advantage of any enabling environment the government provides and run with it.
Many African governments do not provide a lot of enabling opportunities. When it happens, itâs important to highlight the effort and give credit where it is due.
This past week, the Kenyan government launched two incredible enabling opportunities.
1. Microsoft New Development Centre Worth 27 Million USD
On Thursday, February 24th, President Uhuru unveiled the new labs and office for Microsoftâs Africa Development Centre (ADC)
Microsoft first launched ADC in Kenya three years ago. The goal was to create a one-of-a-kind engineering hub in Africa.
After three successful years in Nairobi, Microsoft has decided to expand its operations.
The new space will house:
An incubation hub dubbed âthe Microsoft Garageâ aimed at promoting innovation on the continent
Engineering, research and design teams
Innovation teams
During the unveiling, President Uhuru said,
As a premier centre of research and development for Microsoft, we all remain confident that you â together with our young men and women â will build local world-class talent and create innovative technological solutions that will yield positive global impacts.
The president also noted that as part of the agreement, Microsoft had partnered with Universities in Kenya and startups to help create more than 200,000 digital jobs.
2. An Agreement with Huawei to Help Boost ICT Capacity in Kenya
On Friday, February 25th, Kenya signed an agreement with Huawei to train 20,000 Kenyans on ICT within three years. Of the 20,000 Kenyans, 12,500 will be civil servants.
The deal stipulates that Huawei Kenya Engineering Training Academy is a recognised training facility for ICT. It gives anyone who qualifies a chance to learn at the academy and graduate with bonafide credentials that can land them a job.
During the signing, the CEO of Huawei Kenya, Meng, promised that Huawei would go out of its way to nurture local talent.
Remarks
Wangari Maathai said that the worldâs interactions with Africa are not motivated by altruism.
She was not wrong. Microsoft and Huawei have not set up in Kenya because they are altruistic. They have their agenda, which probably involves a lot of profit.
What they cannot dictate is what Kenyans decide to do with the opportunity.
At the moment, it takes someone who wants to transition into tech between six months and one and a half years to learn the skills needed to land a job. IT skills are in demand both locally and abroad, and they tend to pay six figures.
So yes, if Kenyans run with these opportunities, Silicon Savannah (as Kenya is fondly referred to) might create a ton of jobs and become as powerful as Silicon Valley in the US.
A couple of years from now, when Kenya is hopefully home to several unicorn startups (private startups worth over 1 billion dollars) thanks to the training/incubation hub, it will not matter that both companies had their own side agendas.
Microsoft and Huaweiâs legitimacy will also give Kenya a chance to distinguish itself as a top provider of tech talent that can serve both the continental and global markets.
For that, the Kenyan government deserves kudos!
Hopefully, other African governments will follow suit and provide valid enabling environments.
Otherwise, how will Africa get to a point where it is Not an Afterthought?
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the article and think others might as well, kindly share.
If this is your first time here, here are a couple of issues that you might have missed.
Building and succeeding in Africa: How Safaricom Did It
March is Womenâs History Month: Celebating History Makers and Bias-Breaking Badasses
For feedback, constructive criticism or a private chat, please shoot me an email at nafterthought@gmail.com. Alternatively, leave a comment.