We have in the recent past seen discussions, both online and offline, about how government can play a better role in creating a conducive atmosphere for local technology companies to prosper.
This call for the government to rethink how it conducts its business when seeking solutions is not without its counter arguments — the strongest being that the local tech sector cannot cry for protection while wanting to compete in the global market place.
Technology ecosystem consists of different players but my desire is that we become net producers of exportable value.
This is the only way that information technology will match and even surpass agriculture and tourism as the highest revenue earner for the economy.
To drive this home, an example will suffice. The concept of co-government investing will look like one of those very obvious things, once its broken down.
Kenya has very real challenges that can be addressed using technology.
Africa has those same needs amplified by many factors.
This reads as an opportunity for us to build Kenya as the hub of innovation in Africa.
Pick a problem with a government component, say the Horticulture Crops Development Authority wants to deploy a system to better manage the farm to ensure alignment with new rules and regulations in export market.
In the current frame of mind, they would put out a tender and possibly make it international.
A foreign firm may get the deal, sit for months developing the platform, deliver on time, on budget and then leave.
Well apart from obvious capital flight, here is how it would work out differently.
The authority would do a local tender and engage the winning bidder within a commercial entity set up to develop the platform.
They would pay for the development but the intellectual property remains with the entity.
With the needs of the authority met, the entity would now look to export the solution to other markets with similar challenges, making them net exporters of technology and generate revenue.
What this does for the local tech firm is that it grows their portfolio and makes them even more attractive for venture capital investment whose caretakers are a rather picky lot.
The tech firm could eventually buy out HCDA in the entity and leave in its wake a local technology firm with an African footprint, revenues to support continued research and development and a war chest to spearhead entry to other global markets.
Public Private Partnerships are a great way to kick off the co-investing concept.
By MBUGUA NJIHIA
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