The Place of Technology in Vision 2030

Launched on the 10th of June 2008, vision 2030 is a developmental blueprint for Kenya to move from a third world to a middle-income country by the year 2030. It was developed through an all-inclusive stakeholder participatory process involving Kenyans from all walks of life and different parts of the country. The vision has three core pillars; economic, social and political. The vision also has key foundational areas targeted for reforms which include; Infrastructure, Science, Technology & Innovation, Public Sector Reforms, Tourism, Agriculture, Trade, Manufacturing, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) & ICT (Information Communication & Technology) Financial Services and Education & Training.

For any of the goals outlined in vision 2030 to be achieved, technology in general plays a pivotal role acting as a backbone infrastructure, driver of innovation and tool of nation building and efficiency across various sectors. Let us therefore look at some of the key technologies The writers of these blueprint envisioned and their key areas of utilization.

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The National Fibre Optic Broadband Infrastructure- at the beginning of the implementation of vision 2030, over 80% of Kenya’s population did not have access to basic telecommunication services. The national fibre optic broadband infrastructure or NOFBI for short was implemented in phases in the country. NOFBI serves as the information superhighway that has access points in various counties, it is what underpins the deployment and development of the rural telecommunication services in Kenya. The infrastructure is mostly comprised of a fibreoptic network exceeding 5000+km spanning the country within road reserves along major highways in all regions of the country. This key fibreoptic technology is responsible for the lowering of internet costs within the country, improved internet speeds and allowed the rollout of key governmental e-services (operational huduma centres) within the country.

This has had an impact on the foundations of education with initiatives like the Kenya education network being made more efficient and far reaching thanks to this technology. Healthcare has also received positive impact from the NOFBI with public hospitals having internet connectivity and other services in order to help access data management service and the universal healthcare programme launched by the Uhuru administration. The far-reaching effects of fibreoptic interconnectivity are numerous and would make a separate body of work in and of themselves.

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Smart City Technologies – Smart cities are a core to the realization of manufacturing, innovation, science, research and financial technologies that the blueprint of vision 2030 has for Kenya. Smart cities are a conglomeration of many innovations, the key being internet of thing devices, smart energy, smart mobility and smart buildings.

IOT is a system of inter-related gadgets connected to the internet for the purposes of data exchange. in other words, an ecosystem of connected devices embedded with software, sensors and connectivity. The novel applications of this technology has been the driving force behind the scalability and animation of smart cities the world over. The internet of things equips smart cities with the ability to monitor evaluate and inference data and control facilities in real time. The application of this in smart cities go into the areas of efficient automation of facilities and systems such as security lighting and even drainage. The applications within smart cities are almost limitless.

The future of energy is sustainability, energy sources must be renewable and with the least downside to the environment and planet. One of the ways of doing this is the use of smart energy systems. This are comprised of clean energy productions stations such as solar or wind farms and a digital decentralised system of transmission. These systems rely on devices like smart meters to regulate and save on energy consumption in both domestic and commercial applications and the variation of grid load balancing measures for the purposes of charging electric vehicles. Again, this technology is invaluable for smart cities.

Mobility and transportation is the heartbeat of a city, leveraging on technology in transportation is a must have conversation therefore smart mobility involves the use of multimodal transportation approaches as well as smart systems such as intelligent transport system that incorporates Green Link Determining System, Junction Electronic Eyes, , parking guidance system, Electronic Road Pricing, and smart bus stops. All these work together to create an efficient and automated system to manage mobility within a city.

Smart building are building with digital based automatic procedures to control or regulate building systems such as lighting, security functions, climate controls, drainage and water systems. These building operate like a breathing living organism with its own homeostatic operations. Smart buildings are key to reducing waste, emissions and conserving finite resources and energy.

Smart city technologies have an almost limitless application across the social and economic pillars of vision 2030.

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The examples of technology are simply not limited to this two but are over a wide range of areas such as healthcare, agriculture, e governance, civic education. The study of which cannot be exhaustively discussed within these narrow confines. The goal here is just to create an appreciation for technology and its pivotal role in the future of our country. Kenya's Vision 2030 is greatly aided by technology, which advances the country's social, political, and economic pillars. It improves access to public services, healthcare, education, and productivity while also fostering innovation and competition. Kenya's capacity to meet its development objectives and raise the standard of living for all its residents would be greatly enhanced as long as the nation makes investments in human capital and technology infrastructure.

We have an exciting future ahead of us and we will probably continue seeing countless other technologies involved in Kenya’s future.