Kenyan talents will benefit from the Konza Tech city, says Kenya ICT Board’s chief executive adding that he is positive foreign companies will hire local talents.
There has been a general concern in Kenya that the technopolis is being put up for foreign investors, and that the local investors will have little value in the project.
Speaking to HumanIPO, Kukubo said: “When Konza was mooted the idea was that it would become a tech city that attracts local and foreign investors. That was the original idea.”
Kukubo said the notion that foreign investors would lock out local talent when setting up their businesses, is based on misinformation. He said that foreign companies would want to come to Kenya because the local talent is highly skilled and cheap compared to developed nations.
Kukubo explained that big companies looking to invest in Kenya will also hire local talent as it’s in their best interest to do so.
“Konza is not designed in a way that restricts anybody from investing,” he said. “Most of the companies that will be allowed to be there are the ones that use technology as their core.”
Countries like China and India have benefited from high volume of capable talent and companies find it cheaper to outsource services from such countries. Kenya through the Konza project, wants to be part of that market.
“Konza provides a geographical space where people can live work in a world class environment. So Konza will manifest itself with schools, hospitals, housing estates, social amenities,” Kukubo said.
This flagship project will see a modern planned urban city spanning over 5,000 acres, set up in an estimated 20 years.
