Ministry of ICT’s Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru has officiated the ICT Talent Cultivation for Kenya’s Digital economy whitepaper through a joint partnership between Huawei and UNESCO.
The whitepaper provides research findings on the situation of Kenya’s ICT Talent development along with guidelines and recommendations to improve the programs in place by stakeholders. These includes partners in academia, industry and government.
With a World Bank report predicting that 55% of jobs in Kenya by 2030 will require digital skills, talent cultivation is required to reap the benefits of the digital economy. Organizations and individuals continue to rapidly adopt new and emerging technologies, whilst industry sectors are also embracing the digital transformation within their operations.
It is therefore projected that by 2026, the digital economy will account for 25% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from 15.5 % in 2016. While Africa expects the digital economy to contribute about 5.2% of its GDP by 2025, Kenya’s digital economy is expected to generate 9.24% of the total GDP by 2025, contributing to the projected 33% growth of the gig economy within the same period.
Speaking at the launch of the ICT Cultivation whitepaper, CS Mucheru stated, “This transformation requires a massive investment in the relevant skills set that will allow for the youth and the old alike to partake and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital economy and the gig economy. I would like to commend Huawei for your commitment and investment in developing the local ICT talent.”
Dr. Samuel Partey, Program Specialist, UNESCO highlighted the importance of partnerships in ICT talent development and noted UNESCO’s collaboration with the private sector saying, “UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa believes in the power of ICT for good, and signed a milestone agreement with Huawei in 2019 to enhance digital skills to achieve SDGs, which is also an integral part to the program of equaling quality education in Huawei’s digital inclusion initiative TECH4ALL”
On her part, Fiona Pan, Deputy CEO at Huawei Kenya stated, “At Huawei, we take pride in not only helping grow the ICT infrastructure within the country but also the local ICT talent. We have various initiatives to contribute meaningfully to Kenya’s ICT development through our training programs. We provide internships, training programs, and full-time recruitment.”