President William Ruto has announced that Kenya is set to manufacture the cheapest smartphone in Africa within a year, whose cost will be less than ksh.5,000
President Ruto speaking at a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) roundtable forum on Thursday morning, said that having a cheap smartphone will ensure that all Kenyans can access digital platforms for business and also for government services.
The President added that the process is already on and they are working with the telecommunication sector so as to come up with a cheaper gadget which is capable of doing everything for the common mwanainchi.
The new smartphones would cost only KSh 5,000 as compared to the current market price of about KSh 10,000 to KSh 15,000 which most business owners cannot be able to own them.
The President noted that this smartphones will be available in a period of between 8 to 12 months.
President William Ruto has reiterated the Kenya Kwanza government’s promise to improve technology in Kenya.
“Today, the cheapest smartphone is about KSh 10,000 to KSh 15,000. We want to see whether we can get it to $30 or $40 (KSh 3,000 – KSh 5,000).
“We are already working with our telecommunication sector to have a smartphone that will be less than KSh 5,000. A smartphone that can do everything that you want,” said Ruto.
“The real last mile in technology is the gadget. I want to promise the country that in the next 8-12 months, we will have the cheapest smartphone in Africa, manufactured in Kenya,” he said.
Ruto’s new proposals would see more Kenyans have access to phones, especially smartphones.
Read Also:ruto-secures-multi-billion-deals-at-un-climate-summit-in-egypt
A report from Datareportal, mobile phone users in Kenya increased by 11% between January 2020 and January 2021 to 59.24 million.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel at Switch TV
ICTCabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo said the Kenya Kwanza government would fulfil its promise to connect free internet to Kenyan households.
