Kenya hails Huawei's role in boosting youth ICT skills

NAIROBI -- Kenya has hailed the important role that Chinese technology firm Huawei has played in boosting the youth's Information Communication Technology skills.

Katherine Getao, CEO of ICT Authority told a technology forum in Nairobi that the Chinese firm is currently offering world class ICT training locally to Kenyan students.

"I am very grateful to Huawei for its cooperation with Kenya in the area of capacity building in the ICT sector that will go along way to make the county a digital economy," said Getao during the Huawei technology workshop for government ICT.

She said that a significant portion of the ICT training is focused on youth from marginalized communities.

"Each ICT training, no matter how technical the training is, always has at least 30 percent of the participants being female," Getao added.

She revealed that Huawei is also the key contractor for the country's national fiber optic network.

"The national fibre optic network is playing a key role in bridging the country's digital divide because commercial telecoms rely on the infrastructure to provide broadband to the remote areas of the country," said Getao.

She noted that the Chinese firm has been able to become a competitive tech firm due to its responsiveness to customer needs.

The Kenyan official said that Huawei is also key partner for Kenya because it has developed the latest ICT products and services through investments in research.

She observed that Huawei is a good corporate citizen due to its active corporate social responsibility programs targeted at Kenya's less unfortunate citizens.