Government Launches First Software Factory In Bomet County

The first software factory in Kenya is being built in Mulot, Bomet County, thanks to a commission from the Ministry of ICT, Innovation, and Youth Affairs and the Information and Communication Technology Authority (ICTA).

The ten-year Kenya National Digital Masterplan includes 19 key initiatives that are intended to hasten Kenya’s digital transformation, including the software factory.

ICT Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru said during the groundbreaking ceremony that once the Bomet software factory is up and running, it will provide jobs for young people in Kenya and boost the economy of the nation.

“The commissioning of the software here in Bomet today reaffirms our commitment to implementation of the National Digital Master Plan that we launched in April this year that has without doubt shaped our discussions towards a transformed digital Kenya where technology plays a pivotal role in economic development.

“As our priority investment towards strengthening ICT Infrastructure, we expect this software factory to create employment opportunities for over 100,000 software engineers who will be able to develop systems for the region as well as for the global market,” said Mucheru.

As CS Mucheru emphasized, digitalization is a key tool in accelerating all social and economic development, the facility will assure the development of ICT skills to match growing technology trends for economic growth.

“Kenya has for a long time been known as Africa’s Silicon Savannah. Living up to this expectation, we aim to empower a vibrant community of software engineers willing to find real solutions to real challenges for economic growth. This factory will therefore play a big role in sparking innovation to meet Kenya’s future challenges,” added Mucheru.

“Our choice of this location is informed by the high number of talented ICT experts who hail from the Mulot area in Bomet County. I therefore believe with the establishment of this facility; we will be able to tap into more talents from here and also across the Lake basin economic bloc counties,” Mucheru added.