Why technology is an enabler of Government and business efficiency.

Professor Bitange Ndemo in his book Digital Kenya: An Entrepreneurial Revolution in Kenya  has brought out  a number of  keys issues that are fundamental in nature for any organization gearing towards efficiency and effectiveness in its internal operations.

He takes us back to the Kenyan internet journey critical was the laying of the first fiber-optic cable on the Eastern Seaboard of Africa, the TEAMS cable, was first crucial step that heralded a new chapter for cheaper telecommunication access. With it, opportunities to mainstream Internet access were created, such as subsidizing broadband more Internets Service Providers (ISP)  sprung up to take up the internet access journey for all. Our institutions of higher learning benefited immensely and this created start-up hubs where entrepreneurs had access to high-speed Internet.

 Web applications (apps) such as  M-PESA, the money-transferring app was created, it capitalized on the fact that only 5 percent of the Kenyan  population by then had access to bank accounts and created a solution that revolutionized citizens’ financial freedom.

The post-election violence of 2007–2008 also brought some unexpected innovation when a small group consisting of a few individuals  began to collect eyewitness reports of violence from emails and text messages and uploaded them to Google Maps, giving rise to Ushahidi (Swahili for “testimony” or “witness”),   a groundbreaking information-gathering, visualization, and interactive mapping tool that is now used around the globe.

Ushahidi, along with M-PESA, changed the minds of even the best-known doubters that it was possible for innovation to stimulate a world-class entrepreneurialism in Kenya.  Financial institutions did not see how MPESA application would cause a disruption in the way of doing business but banks had no choice but to embed clients’ accounts to this new application, the effect was reduced queues in the banking halls. The Mpesa developers went further to automate business transactions through introduction of Pay bills and Till numbers making it even easier for individuals and organizations to transact business.

It is therefore critical for Governments and business organizations to focus on the development of ICT infrastructure, leverage on  mobile platforms to build innovative applications, creation of local content, enhance human resource capacity, develop  public–private partnerships (PPP), and creation of employment opportunities for our young  growing youth population with the result that Kenya’s policy environment has slowly become a conduit for successful ICT development locally.

The ICT revolution is a global and competitive phenomenon that is heralding a new paradigm of creativity and innovation in virtually every part of the world. Almost every business is forced by technological advancement to relook the way of doing business in the ever-changing world. Governments want to collect more revenues through efficient tax collection by adopting integrated systems to propel accountability.

Demand for online services is increasing day by day, digitization of government records at all departmental levels to improve data visibility.

The approach of customizing a complex technology to local environments makes it even simpler and more relevant even in the most unexpected areas. Imagine a scenario where a herdsman from a village in Turkana is able to access information on the weather patterns and plans grazing for his animals   based on some free data available through the mobile phone.  Today, even the poorest citizens in shantytown areas participate in social media, which has given rise to new approaches to communication.

 Today through ubiquitous connectivity, digitization of content and processes, crowdsourcing, collaborations tools, knowledge networks, sensors, data capture and sharing, artificial intelligence, and analytics that ICT can help build innovative enterprises.

 Let us mobilize local knowledge and problem solving, and make global knowledge accessible to all. ICT can network actors and organizations across sectors and regions, build collaborative platforms to co-create development solutions, and enable client-centric service delivery.

We must all embrace technology and keenly follow Innovations that change the way we operate as individuals and organizations. Technology is ever changing.

Author,

Ekaale Ekuam

 Chair, Turkana Professionals Association (TPA)

ekaale.ekuam@gmail.com

https://ekaaleekuam.blogspot.co.ke/