Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), has held a meeting with US-headquartered
VMware, a leading innovator in enterprise software and cloud computing, to discuss areas of
partnerships and collaborations. A VMware team led by Robert Condon, EMEA head of Government Relations and Public Policy; Lorna Hardie, Senior Director of Sub-Saharan Africa; and Everline Wangu Kamau-Migwi, Senior Territory Manager East Africa agreed to explore aligning around capacity building for emerging tech talent and data centre solutions in the region. Discussions were also held around
the potential of working with KoTDA around the IASP World Conference 2024.
Speaking during the meeting, Robert Condon and Lorna Hardie said: “We are impressed with the vision behind Konza Technopolis and the ambition and insight displayed by the Kenyan Government in driving innovation through such initiatives. A leader in multi-cloud, we are delighted to explore areas of cooperation and collaboration with the Authority. A key technology provider to several Kenyan government departments and agencies, alongside providing software and services to private sector organisations such as Safaricom, we are delighted to be taking this first step together with Konza on building Africa’s smartest city. This is the first step towards aligning on shrinking the IT skills gap in Kenya, which will ultimately have a positive effect on the country’s employment market.”
On her part, Josphine Ndambuki, Chief Manager of Business Development, and Innovation said that Konza is keen to work with VMware to help bridge the skills gap and to develop the number of youths entering the tech space. She added that Konza is positioning itself to better support the government’s digitalisation efforts through its national data centre. As such, the Authority needs to foster relationships that will focus on skills development for the country.
A recent study by UNESCO and Africa Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) notes that by 2030 a huge percentage of jobs in Kenya will be dependent on digital skills and the adoption of 5G network cloud technologies and data centre solutions. KoTDA has partnered with local and international software vendors and solutions providers to provide bundled software solutions to complement Konza’s National Data Center services. Onboarding of the software and cloud vendors has been finalised, which will go a long way in providing a wide array of data centre services and revenue sources for the Authority. The partnerships include technology, MSSP, innovation and R&D, managed consulting services, and
reseller partnerships.
As part of the Phase 1 anchor projects, the Authority has completed the implementation of a neutral carrier tier III data centre currently being operationalised to support the government, business enterprises and smart city facilities with cutting-edge cloud computing products and services. The Konza National Data Centre is a highly secure and reliable facility located in a smart and sustainable city with assured multiple internet connectivity points and a reliable power supply. The state-of-the-art tier III data centre was designed and implemented in compliance with international standards and best practices such as TIA 942:2017 Accreditation, LEED Gold (USGBC) and Uptime Institute Tier III Design & Construction Certified.
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