The Connected Kenya Summit 2023 is set to take place from 2nd -5th April 2023. This year’s conference has themed “The Digital Economy: Endless opportunities shaping the future” and will be hosted by the ICT Authority in collaboration with key players in the ICT sector. The high-level Tech thought leadership Summit seeks to review progress and achievements in the sector, share knowledge, case studies, best practice and lessons learned based on experiences by ICT practitioners, develop and recommend policy, regulatory and operational interventions, and provide a platform for meaningful networking that will result in fruitful relationships that contribute to economic development.
The Connected Summit comes at a time when Kenya has positioned itself into an e-Commerce and digital services hub, not only in the region but also in Africa. The Government of Kenya has continued to build on this to address the digital divide challenge through the provision of accessible and affordable broadband connectivity to all citizens so that they can participate in the digital economy.
The Connected Kenya Summit was first held in 2009, and since then, it has continued to bring together industry players from the private, public sector, and academia, bringing ICT thought leaders and experts under one roof. The summit offers a platform where the industry players, government, innovators, and other stakeholders mingle freely, share and exchange ideas on how ICT can be leveraged to address challenges facing Kenyans both at a national and personal level.
The journey and essence of Connected Kenya Summit have been one of collaboration and partnerships to provide ICT solutions to national issues, enhancing this sector’s role in the delivery of the country’s economic agenda. The past Connected Summits have seen the birth of key public service innovations, namely Huduma, e-citizen, the Presidential Digital Talent Program, and the National ICT Master Plan of 2017.
It is therefore anticipated that this year’s forum will add to this bucket of innovations that will support the delivery of the Digital Super Highway. The ICT Authority is, therefore, encouraging all ICT sector players to be present at the summit and contribute to the sharing of knowledge and arrive at solutions on how best we can complete Kenya’s journey to being a knowledge economy and a regional ICT Hub.
This year’s forum will take place in Kwale County, and over 1000 delegates, local and international, are expected to attend. The greatest meeting of ICT minds ever in the East African region will take part in three days of intensive engagements on the Government of Kenya Digital agenda, recently outlined by HE William Ruto. There will also be conversations around emerging technologies such as Blockchain, Internet of Things, big data, and Artificial Intelligence, among others.
The ICT Authority has a broad mandate that entails enforcing ICT Standards in government and enhancing the supervision of its electronic communication. The Authority also promotes ICT Literacy, Capacity, Innovation, and Enterprise in line with the ICT Authority Strategic Plan(2020-24), the National Digital Master Plan (2022-32), and the National ICT Policy of 2020. Specifically, the Authority sets and enforces ICT standards and guidelines for the human resource, infrastructure, process and system and technology for the public office and public service, deploys and manages all ICT Staff in the public service, promotes e-government services, and promotes ICT innovations and enterprise.
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