Practical Insights on Kenya

Kenya ICT4D

How are Kenyans using ICT4D to Improve Life in Kenya?

Kenyans are using ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development) to accelerate social and economic development by improving access to information, opportunities, and services, and by promoting innovation and efficiency in various sectors.

  • Agriculture: ICTs are being used to improve the efficiency and productivity of smallholder farmers, through the use of precision agriculture technologies such as remote sensing and GPS-based farming tools.
  • Financial inclusion: ICTs are being used to expand access to financial services, including mobile banking and other digital financial technologies, which can help to increase financial inclusion and improve the lives of people who are unbanked or underbanked.
  • Education: ICTs are being used to improve the quality of education and expand access to learning opportunities, through the use of e-learning platforms and other digital tools.
  • Healthcare: ICTs are being used to improve access to healthcare and health information, through the use of telemedicine and other digital health technologies.
  • Infrastructure: ICTs are being used to improve infrastructure, including transportation and energy systems, through the use of smart city technologies and other digital innovations.
Beware the Mobile Phone Hardware Quality Divide for Rural African Women

Beware the Mobile Phone Hardware Quality Divide for Rural African Women

Published on: Sep 20 2018 by Wayan Vota - 12 Comments
We all can celebrate the massive adoption of mobile phones across the African continent, and be astonished at the rapid uptake of smartphones in countries like...
The Real Failure in ICT4Edu: Poor Teacher Professional Development

The Real Failure in ICT4Edu: Poor Teacher Professional Development

Published on: Aug 16 2018 by Guest Writer - 6 Comments
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in a discussion that quickly shifts from a failing ICT for Education initiative, to the assumed root cause:...
Surprising Challenges To Our Assumptions About Agriculture

Surprising Challenges To Our Assumptions About Agriculture

Published on: Jul 04 2018 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on Surprising Challenges To Our Assumptions About Agriculture
After growing up in two of Kenya’s biggest cities, Kisumu and Nairobi, JP Murunga graduated with a degree in statistics from Kenya’s leading university –...
9 Lessons Learned From Failed AgriTech Interventions in African Countries

9 Lessons Learned From Failed AgriTech Interventions in African Countries

Published on: Jun 06 2018 by Wayan Vota - Comments Off on 9 Lessons Learned From Failed AgriTech Interventions in African Countries
The potential for ICTs in agricultural development is almost endless and numerous applications are being developed and deployed. However, whilst everyone would...
Wow! Mobile Money Transactions Are Now Larger Than Kenya’s GDP

Wow! Mobile Money Transactions Are Now Larger Than Kenya’s GDP

Published on: May 16 2018 by Wayan Vota - 1 Comment
For years, we’ve heard how the value of M-PESA mobile money transactions are a rising percentage of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product. In 2010 we reported...
10 Lessons Learned from Deploying a Malnutrition mHealth Solution in 5 Countries

10 Lessons Learned from Deploying a Malnutrition mHealth Solution in 5 Countries

Published on: May 07 2018 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on 10 Lessons Learned from Deploying a Malnutrition mHealth Solution in 5 Countries
Community based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) is a proven high-impact and cost-effective approach in the treatment of acute malnutrition in developing...
When Will We Have Our Own Cambridge Analytica-Facebook Moment? Your Weekend Long Reads

When Will We Have Our Own Cambridge Analytica-Facebook Moment? Your Weekend Long Reads

Published on: Apr 21 2018 by Steve Vosloo - Comments Off on When Will We Have Our Own Cambridge Analytica-Facebook Moment? Your Weekend Long Reads
Facebook currently has a Cambridge Analytica problem. It is under severe pressure to explain how 87 million users had their personal data leaked and offer assurances...
How We Get 80 Percent Engagement with Our HIV ART Mobile App

How We Get 80 Percent Engagement with Our HIV ART Mobile App

Published on: Oct 18 2017 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on How We Get 80 Percent Engagement with Our HIV ART Mobile App
Over 50% of HIV-positive adolescents in Western Kenya fail to adhere to antiretroviral therapy (ART), despite the availability of free services and medications....
Which African Governments Spy on Technology Users the Most?

Which African Governments Spy on Technology Users the Most?

Published on: Sep 21 2017 by Wayan Vota - 2 Comments
Governments can legally spy on their residents in many ways, most of them hidden from our purview. However, telecommunications companies, now often a target of...
How Can Chatbots Help Us Respond to Humanitarian Crises?

How Can Chatbots Help Us Respond to Humanitarian Crises?

Published on: Aug 31 2017 by Guest Writer - Comments Off on How Can Chatbots Help Us Respond to Humanitarian Crises?
At the moment, The World Food Programme (WFP) and the wider humanitarian system are #FightingFamine in four countries. In Somalia, Yemen, North-Eastern Nigeria...