Ruto secures 300k tech jobs for Kenyan youth
NAIROBI, KENYA — Kenyan President William Ruto announced that Google, Apple, Amazon, Intel, and other international tech companies would hire up to 300,000 Kenyans for digital jobs.
Ruto revealed that he met with tech companies in Silicon Valley and San Francisco during his recent trip to the United States (U.S.) to secure employment opportunities for Kenyan youth. He added that these jobs would help actualize his government’s digital superhighway agenda outlined in the Kenya Kwanza Alliance manifesto.
“During my trip to the US, I visited Google, Intel, and Apple. They are looking to hire 100,000 and 300,000 people. And these workers will be Kenyans,” Ruto stated in Nairobi.
This move is also part of the President’s plans to set up a digital hub in each Kenyan county ward, aiming for a total of 1,450 hubs nationwide.
Ruto also shared his goal of expanding Kenya’s digital infrastructure by 100,000 kilometers (km), a decision influenced by the 2022 campaign feedback.
This digital push saw momentum in April with the rollout of free public Wi-Fi. With the World Bank backing it with a KSh 52 billion (US$356 million) grant and an expected US$100 million from the private sector, the project will upgrade 2,500km of fiber networks and set up village-based digital hubs.
Just last month, the Kenyan Government revealed that they are looking to update the country’s outdated labor laws to unlock potential in the global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market and facilitate job growth in the digital economy.
Principal Secretary for Industrialization Juma Mukhawana said that Kenya needs to align its laws, which were first drafted in 2007, with the current needs of the rapidly growing digital sector.
