en.Wedoany.com Reported - Kenya's State Department for Information Communication Technology and the Digital Economy is advancing its national digital hub initiative, aiming to establish a digital hub in every ward to expand digital access and opportunities. Principal Secretary Eng. John Kipchumba Tanui briefed the National Assembly Constituency Development Fund Committee (NG-CDF Committee) on implementation progress, with discussions focusing on accelerating project execution, strengthening management frameworks, and promoting public-private partnerships to foster digital skills training and employment.

Previously, many community digital hubs struggled to remain sustainable due to insufficient funding for electricity supply, internet connectivity, maintenance, and management. The digital hub initiative aims to address these long-standing barriers.

Following a meeting convened by President William Ruto, the Constituency Development Fund Act was amended. The revised legislation allows constituencies to establish digital hubs at the ward level and allocate up to 3% of the Constituency Development Fund to operational costs, thereby creating a sustainable financing model for grassroots digital infrastructure.

Currently, 588 digital hub sites have been committed nationwide. A total of 10,000 locally assembled desktop computers have been procured to equip the first 100 pilot digital hubs, while simultaneously supporting local manufacturing.

Procurement of an additional 10,000 desktop computers under the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP) is in its final stages; procurement of 2,222 desktop computers funded through government funds (Exchequer-funded) is underway. Construction of 46 centres of excellence and 40 standard digital hubs is also progressing.

The digital hubs will support digital skills development, innovation, artificial intelligence, software development, entrepreneurship, online work, e-commerce, and access to government digital services. The initiative is expected to help young people, innovators, and businesses across Kenya participate more fully in the country's growing digital economy.

The Principal Secretary also expressed gratitude to the National Assembly Constituency Development Fund Committee and the Information Communication and Technology Committee, chaired by Hon. Musa Sirma, for their oversight of the initiative's implementation and their commitment to advancing the national digital infrastructure programme.