Eliud Owalo, Cabinet Minister for Information, Communications and Digital Economy, announced that government had trained more than 390,000 young people in digital jobs over the past year, creating 139,000 online jobs.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Zitume ICT Hub in Ruilu town on Monday, Owalo said government’s digital transformation plan has had a major impact on the youth, enabling them to earn millions of shillings per month working remotely. He stressed that government is supporting the construction and equipping of Zitume ICT hubs across the country with internet connectivity.
Owalo encouraged youths to take advantage of the free digital training programmes being offered at various Digital Hubs across the country, stressing that the digital sector has become one of the largest employment opportunities. He outlined his government’s target to establish 1,450 Digital Hubs across the country and scale up to the ward level to engage more youths in the programmes.
Highlighting the shift to digital employment, Owaro said: “Gone are the days when office-based work was the only source of employment. As a government, we have provided a conducive environment, built the Zitume Hub, and created over 100,000 digital jobs annually. This is the way forward.”
He also unveiled plans to connect all markets in the country to the internet to boost e-commerce, including an agreement with the Kenya Electricity Company to use its electricity poles for internet cables, with the goal of ensuring that every home with electricity is also connected to the internet.
“Going forward, we have an agreement with the Kenya Electricity Company to allow us to use their electricity poles to lay internet cables instead of underground cables. This programme will ensure that every home that has electricity will also be connected to the internet. We also have plans to connect all 25,000 markets in the country to the internet to boost e-commerce.” Owalo pointed out.
Alongside Simon Kingara, Member of Parliament for Louilu, who stressed the importance of digitalisation, Owalo announced plans to build eight digital hubs in the constituency.
According to the Kenya News Agency (KNA), beneficiaries Stephen Ochieng and Peter Karanja shared their success stories, with Ochieng claiming to earn nearly Ksh1 million a month and Karanja more than Ksh700,000.
Before shifting to online work, Ochieng reportedly sold second-hand computers and Karanja sold clothes in Githurai.
