In an unprecedented initiative, various technology-related companies have started a joint campaign to reach people outside Nairobi, where most information and communications technologies (ICTs) have been focused. The programme, which started last month in Nakuru, aims to take “ICT to the rural and marginalised areas. It is headed by online portal and business lobby, ICTVillage.com, with sponsorship from the information and communication ministry. Major ICT sector players including Safaricom, Celtel Kenya , Telkom Kenya and Postal Corporation of Kenya are also backing the initiative. The companies will converge on Mombasa next week for an ICT Roadshow. Over 20 ICT related-exhibitors will also display their products. They hope to guide members of the public through their services, explaining the latest solutions and strategies that have been successfully applied in more developed countries as well as in Kenya.For example, in a previous show in Nakuru, one company demonstrated accounting software, which has been used by some teachers savings and credit societies (Saccos) in the area to improve financial practices. The two large mobile providers are explaining how their newly launched money transfer systems—Safaricom’s M-Pesa, and Celtel’s Sokotele—could aid rural businesses.



Dr Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, has called upon all residents of the Coast Province and neighbouring districts to visit the ICT Roadshow and see for themselves the products, packages and opportunities available.According to Peter Kimacia, founder of ICTvillage. com, the key objective of the roadshow is to showcase high-tech products and services that could help quicken the pace of economic and social development outside the capital city.“Those who attend will develop awareness and understanding of how ICTs can transform rural communities as well as establish contacts of individuals and organisations that are ready, willing and able to implement practical ICT- related initiatives in their areas of interest,” Mr Kimacia said in a release. The ICT Roadshow is also part of a wider Govermnent-led plan to establish a Digital Village Network (DVN). The DVN includes plans for ICT facilities distributed all over the country. It is seen as an integral part of an innovative Public Private Partnership, and the DVN will harness the potential of the rural sector by making computers and other ICTs more accessible and affordable to rural citizens. The plan is to bring together organisations in the public and private sectors, development partners and civil society organisations as well as individuals in Kenya and the diaspora to invest in ICT facilities.The initiative includes plans for ICT community resource hubs in each district, as well as commercial kiosks in every constituency and educational ICT facilities in every location.The proposed DVN will be overseen by the Information ministry.