Friday’s field day included meetings with many US technology businesses and investors for President William Ruto.
He traveled to Silicon Valley in San Francisco and talked with executives from companies like Microsoft, Intel, Google, and Apple among others in an effort to advance Kenya’s progress in technological innovation.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, Pat Gelsinger, Ruth Porat, the CFO of Google, and executives from Nike, GAP, and Levi Strauss were all people Ruto met.
Image: PCS
The Head of State bragged of Kenya’s potential as the innovation capital of the continent and pleaded with global tech companies to invest there as the “gateway to the Silicon Savannah.”
“Kenya is your gateway to the Silicon Savannah, to the East African Community, the most integrated regional market of 500 million, and a Pan-African market of 1.4 billion. If you build it in Kenya, it works for Africa, and if you set up in Kenya, your African footprint is guaranteed,” Ruto stated.
Further, the President praised Google for “actively contributing to Kenya’s development by granting Sh600 million (USD 5M) to enhance connectivity for crucial citizen services, assist in the creation of affordable smartphone devices, and support SMEs through the Google Hustle Academy.”
Apple and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) are collaborating, according to Ruto, to advance healthcare innovation and technology in the nation.
“I believe that contact with such companies as Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Google and Intel provide a firm grounding for our future tech entrepreneurs in an environment where possibilities continuously germinate and thrive, thus enriching Kenya’s entrepreneurial dynamism,” he said.
The roadshow aims at showcasing opportunities for technology companies to explore doing business and investing in Kenya.