CA Undertakes Digital Skilling Exercise in Marsabit County

The Authority recently undertook a digital skilling programme in Marsabit County, seeking to equip residents with skills to adequately leverage ICTs for socio-economic transformation.

The exercise was carried out in Elgade and Elbeso sub-locations that have benefitted from mobile network connectivity, through the Universal Service Fund (USF). Even though mobile network services have significantly improved in the two areas, but residents are yet to fully leverage the services because of prohibitive smartphone and Internet costs and lack of requisite digital skills.

According to the Elgade Assistant Chief Mr. Malicha Guyo Bora, since the mast was installed in the area, it has been easier to obtain information promptly from the thirteen villages in his sub-location, which are located over thirty kilometers apart.

“Today it is easy to mobilize the community if we have urgent information to pass to the public. Previously it could take us three to four days to send a messenger around the thirteen zones,” Mr. Guyo said.

However, he noted that unlike in urban areas, where the availability of such masts has led to business opportunities such as M-Pesa agents and Cyber cafes, the locals are yet to venture into such enterprises. “It is imperative that the public be better informed about the opportunities this telecom tower offers.

The majority of users use it for voice calls and M-Pesa services, but they may make the most of it if they are well informed,” he said.

Due to the utilization disparity in the two locations, the Authority in partnership with Safaricom and Huawei Technologies to roll out a a trial digital skilling program in the areas where CA has deployed mobile network connectivity through the USF.

Elgade and Elbeso sub-locations in North Horr Sub-County in Marsabit County are among the regions that have benefitted from the USF, which was established in 2009 to leverage operations and provision of services in high-cost areas. All licensed operators providing communication services on a commercial basis are required by law to contribute at least one (1) percent of their annual gross turnover to the Fund.

Currently, the operators are contributing 0.5 percent to the kitty. Mr. Baraka Duba, a resident at Elbeso, pointed out that the locals are still experiencing some challenges, like lack of knowledge on basic smartphone capabilities, replace lost SIM cards, procure high-quality phone batteries, or purchase airtime through mobile money. “The awareness done by Safaricom and Communication Authority of Kenya is most welcome. We would appreciate it if this is done often or a customer care shop is set up here to help the new customers,” he observed.

Eng. Edwin Ombega who is a Senior Project Development Officer at CA said the exercise to equip the locals within Marsabit County with digital skills is in line with the Authority’s current Strategic plan to increase broadband coverage and usage. He also noted that a recent study by GSMA identified five barriers to accessing mobile broadband usage, which include affordability, lack of access, lack of digital skills, relevant content, and, online safety.

“The digital skills training aims to empower the citizen, especially those who are getting mobile connectivity for the first time because they are highly likely to be impacted by the barriers identified in the GSMA study,” Eng. Ombega said.

Safaricom Senior Technical Regulations Officer Mr. Ian Siako said the digital skills exercise enabled them to get feedback from their clients in the regions they visited.

“Majority of the clients we interacted with owned feature phones; however, they would like to have smartphones,” Siako said. He noted that smartphones would enable them to access educational, health content, and, veterinary services.

“Being pastoralists, the residents in these areas not only want to talk with the youth grazing the livestock in the field far away but would also want to see them and the animals, and this can only be achieved by having a smartphone,” he noted.

Mr. Siako said to enable its customers to acquire affordable smartphones, Safaricom currently has a plan where customers can pay a deposit of KSh1,000 for a smartphone of their choice and choose a daily fee for one year depending on the model of the smartphone on what is referred as Lipa Mdogo Mdogo. He added that the launch of East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited (EADAK), a joint venture of local Mobile Network Operators and international device manufacturers, has lowered the costs of smartphones in the country, however, he suggested that there should be additional regulatory interventions to subsidize the smartphones in the market.

According to the CA sector statistics report, as of June 2024, the total number of mobile phone devices connected to mobile networks was 66.1 million with a penetration rate of 128.3 percent. There were 30,871,316 features, while 35,214,539 were smartphones, representation penetration rates of 59.9 per cent and 68.3 per cent respectively.

In the last five years, the Authority  through the USF has connected nearly 800,000 people to mobile network connectivity services across 24 Counties.