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Kenyan leader calls for ICT to be used to solve economic challenges

Xinhua, May 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday urged the African continent to use Information Communication Technology (ICT) in order to solve its economic challenges.

Kenyatta told an economic forum in Nairobi that although the continent has registered rapid improvement in ICT use especially in terms of mobile telephone, the region still lags significantly in technological readiness.

"Digitization is a critical tool in today's economy because its ensures increased efficiency in the delivery of government services," Kenyatta said during the opening ceremony of the Ease of Doing Business Initiative Conference.

The four-day event brought over 400 participants drawn from 26 Sub Saharan countries to review regulatory reforms required to improve business climate.

Kenyatta said that going forward, African economies need to create an enabling environment in order to fully leverage ICT uptake so as to achieve positive economic and social benefits.

He noted that Kenya shares the belief that African nations should be at the forefront of improving their macroeconomic conditions by undertaking reforms that will drive the continent's economic renaissance.

"Kenya is therefore committed to sharing its experience in reforming the business environment with other African states for the continent's social and economic good," he said.

The Kenya leader said that while Africa faced a tough 2015 as a result of global effects of the currency depreciation against the U.S. dollars and lower commodity prices, the year was also successful as the continent received increased capital inflows.

According to the World Bank's 2015 Doing Business Report, 35 out of the 47 countries in Sub Saharan Africa implemented at least one reform, making it easier to do business in the past year.

The report notes that it is the consolidation of business reforms gains that will create opportunities that can make a difference and help sub-Saharan African economies extend their growth momentum both in the short and long term. Endit