Wednesday, July 26, 2006

ICT rankings

From todays nation:
Kenya is not ranked among the top 10 African countries in information communication and technology (ICT).

According to data gathered by the World Economic Forum and other economic organisations, the country ranks 12th behind its East African neighbours, Ugandan and Tanzania.
Tunisia heads the list followed by South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana and Ghana. Sixth is Egypt, followed closely by Morocco, Namibia, Uganda and Tanzania.

----------


Quite fascinating that Kenya is behind Uganda and Tanzania, which i think is due to past unnecessary regulations that ended up with Telkom K being a monopoly that didn't offer much service.

However I suspect those stats are going to be changing very soon in Kenya's favour. The country is more or less prepping up for a major ICT boom. Within the region, Kenya's ICT skills base is considered among the best (despite the ranking). I just hope that this ICT boom, will not be concentrated in the major urban centres but spread across the country. If a broader ICT base is created in the country, we could be topping that list.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe another case of kenya pessimism,
half a big chunk of the IT work force in half the countries ahead of kenya is kenyan

The.Hanyeé said...

I am not shocked at all by these stats. However, I do concur with you that this is the calm before the storm and I have a good feeling about an imminent IT boom. Positive changes in the government's attitude and approach of a lot of ICT-related matters, especially regarding Telkom is one such indicator.

The boom will definitely be centred around larger urban centres and I think the concern would be how long it will take to reasonably diffuse resources and products, borne of the boom, to a wider base - and more importantly, to ensure that these resources/products are making a positive impact in different fields (education, agriculture, tourism et al) to improve the quality of life of the ordinary mwananchi.

mwasjd said...

I don't necessarily agree with the figures. I believe we are more tech savvy. Just check how we passed Ug & Tz in the mobile world. The laying of fibre by KDN & TKL, + EASSY project, and licensing of the 2nd National Operator, should make things competitive enough to spur the ICT sector here to recognizable heights. But we must develop applications that relate to our business sectors.

J said...

i think by now Kenya has pitad our neighbours. I've many friends working in countries around. Skills wise Kenyans compete really well in the africa market.. why else would Ericsson make their new regional office in Kenya and look to employ over 60 people. A good number of employers in these countries also prefer Kenyans as employees.