Huawei to partner with Kenya to bridge digital divide

NAIROBI - Huawei on Friday pledged to partner with the Kenyan government in order to build advanced infrastructure that will bridge the digital divide in the country.

Will Meng, CEO of Huawei Kenya said in a commentary published in the Standard newspaper that the construction of digital infrastructure is a top priority when developing the digital economy and ecosystem.

"We will continue to work with governments and telecommunication companies to build more advanced infrastructure to bridge the digital divide," Meng said.

"Huawei will also work with the ministry of information, communication and technology (ICT) on the construction of the Konza Technopolis data center that aims at further digitizing Kenya's government operations," he noted.

Meng added the company also plans to collaborate with the ministry of tourism and mobile telecom firm, Safaricom on a digital tourism project to attract more international visitors, thus accelerating the recovery of the sector.

He observed that Huawei has been operating in Kenya for over two decades.

"During this period, the company has worked with telecommunication companies, and helped with the growth in mobile network coverage," he added.

The Chinese technology firm said that it has also worked with the ministry of ICT to build the national optical fiber backbone infrastructure that provides links to local government offices across the 47 counties countrywide.

Meng revealed that with regards to cybersecurity, Huawei has always held both cybersecurity and privacy protection to be of paramount importance by maintaining a comprehensive end-to-end cybersecurity assurance system.

"For decades, we have maintained a solid track record in security in Kenya and across the globe," he added.

He noted that Kenya is on the road to digital transformation as the country's third medium-term plan for the national development blueprint has regarded the ICT as a fast-growing industry.

"We are pleased with Kenya because under the president's leadership the country has established a working group on the digital economy and has already actualized several achievements," he added.