Wanjiru Waweru, Jadetimes Staff
W. Waweru is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Africa News
Africa is on the rise of the Job Crisis.
According to CBS News, “home to the youngest, fastest-growing population on the planet, the continent is set to be home to one in four people on Earth by 2050, according to the United Nations. And this population will, of course, need to work.”
In Kenya, William Ruto was financing the technology as a response. He concentrated on his country — its capital city, Nairobi — the technical hub in the continent of Africa. However, other countries in Africa, especially Kenya, try to develop jobs regardless of the employment rate, which would provide the “living range” — it would be complex in the next 25 years.
The Silicon Savannah
Frequently referred to as Silicon Savannah, Nairobi is the center of Africa’s technical revolution. Former U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman stated, “This Silicon Savannah is very real.” Meg Whitman who previously in charge of eBay and Hewlett-Packard, respectively. President Biden chose her to become America’s representative to Kenya due to her business and tech background.
According to CBS News, “In an interview with 60 Minutes, Whitman pointed to growth in Kenya coming from a robust venture capital community, high-quality universities that provide serious academic investments in tech, and tech jobs coming to the country, such as full-stack code engineering and business process outsourcing.”
Whitman stated that “this tech boom has been anchored by M-Pesa, a pioneering mobile money transfer service that has turned even the simplest mobile phones into secure bank accounts.”
M-Pesa took Kenya to another level industry of technology and innovation which started in 2007, when Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile network, started the strategy for people to provide and earn money via texting, with no bank account. Whitman stated in the 60 Minutes interview “...launched Silicon Savannah in many ways, sort of like [Hewlett-Parkard did] in Silicon Valley.”
There are companies such as the Nairobi-based Ushahidi, a nonprofit that leverages data for crisis response, and election monitored across the world. But there is an investment. In Early 2024, Microsoft and the UAE-based AI firm G42 pawned $1 billion directly extending the digital ecosystem of Kenya.
However, the investment has its own short-term outcomes.
CBS News explained that “Stahl reported this week on 60 Minutes, American tech giants like Meta and Open AI have been contracting middle-man companies to hire Kenyan workers for their operations. Those employees tell 60 Minutes that their work is mentally draining and emotionally harmful, there's no job security, and the pay is dismal.“
Whitman explained that Kenya needs to work to prevent employees if it desires to be international technical team players as the impact continues.
"We've been working quite hard and have heard the complaints about, you know, respect for workers, decent pay, working conditions. And Kenya is getting there," said Whitman. "They need to update their labor laws to the 2010 Constitution. There's more work to be done.”
Whitman also stated that while Kenya played the important role of technology in becoming the main outcome of East Africa, it could make the monarchy supreme on the continent of Africa. Understand her technology perspective on adaptation law in Kenya — “Getting the right laws in place, getting Kenya labor law updated, and applying influence is an important thing to do."
Another important role, for Whitman, is the attraction of investment in Kenya’s technical environment to support the country in developing jobs including young employees. She confirmed that the minimal population of college graduates seeking jobs that mandates a background of a college degree.
"If the jobs aren't created, what will be the future of this continent in 20 years?," said Whitman. "It will not be what it could be.
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