Telkom to sponsor 2018 Connected Kenya Awards

The government-owned telecom provider Telkom, has been named as the title sponsor for the 10th Connected Kenya wards to be held later next month.

During an unveiling ceremony, the cabinet secretary for information technology Mr. Joe Mucheru officially launched the Connected Kenya summit where Telkom was named the title sponsor at a glitzy event held at the Intercontinental hotel. The event also marked the announcement of other partners and sponsors. The event is slated to take place from 22nd to 24th of October this year, gathering east Africa’s finest ICT minds and business ventures.

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This year’s theme is to preserve heritage, pioneering technology, as it targets to showcase the successes that have been made in the ICT sector over a decade, which has resulted in shaping the Kenyan ICT sector. The event will also mark the tenth anniversary of the awards, and as such, the title sponsors are seeking to mark the event in a unique way.

Kris Senanu, MD- Telkom Enterprise Division was quoted saying “as champions of ICT, Kenya fully acknowledges that we must cut through for radical change or remain behind and slowly descend into oblivion.” He was keen to emphasize that laying the foundations to facilitate interconnection in the East African region had to be aggressive.

Telkom Kenya is Kenya’s oldest telecom operator, but third largest in customer subscription has recently undergone a major brand renewal. From color to their rates, and has since been picking up the slack as a mobile service provider to become the more affordable choice for many Kenyans. They have changed gears and have set themselves up as the mobile operator of choice for those looking for affordability and quality in one package.

It also continues to laud its countywide infrastructure that has been leveraged by the government to provide services such as IFMIS in counties, The County Connectivity Project, Constituency Innovation Hubs (CIH) and powering of the Huduma centers. The latter which are known for rolling out government e-services with ease at the convenience of Kenyans.

Additionally, the company also signed a major deal with googles project loon to provide internet services over rural-urban centers for citizens who live in such as areas to receive a competent internet connection. The first East African country to sign this deal, making It a pioneer program for the locals in the rural areas to enjoy internet services. The partnership was a notable milestone with seven balloons in the air covering a 1000km connection between them.

MD Mr. Senanu remained positive that they are preparing to deliver even more value from ICT Investments for the country. Emphasizing that the way forward is not to think about it as infrastructure only, but also as a relationship between the new infrastructure, people and the economy. The connected ICT innovation awards which seek to celebrate Kenyan entrepreneurs that have launched new ICT products and services seems to be the right place to kick off this agenda.

Since the inaugural awards were first held, there have been more than 45 new ICT products and services revealed and matched to create solutions. The awards are styled to highlight innovations that meet the country’s blueprint to build a vibrant economy for the middle-income economy in line with the nation’s vision 2030.  The awards which are centered on 13 different categories cover, Agriculture, Education, and Training. The Environment, Financial Services (Fintech), Health Care Delivery, Housing and Urbanization, Social Equity, Manufacturing, Gender Youth and Vulnerable Groups. Tourism, Water and Sanitation, and The Wholesale and Retail Trade as a finality.

Telkom continues to upgrade its services, especially the expanding 4G network in Nairobi. It is also waiting for industry approval to launch LTE services in rural and underserved areas of the country to improve its customer care plan. This will be done through the previously mentioned loon project set to take place in the coming year.