STL Participates 2003 Infocom Conference and Expo at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya: 31 Oct - 1 Nov 2003

Bridging The Digital Divide – A Message from the Organisers

Technology is increasingly the way the world’s problems will be addressed. The Internet makes the world a smaller place. We are in the new era of cheap and effective technology, an era in which many capabilities of networked software and hardware begin to come together in new ways. This coming together will benefit organizations and it will benefit the world.

The Internet will be the great leveler. The new interconnected network and today’s technologies give the little guy access to tools of unprecedented power whether that little guy is a small competition to a big corporation or a small poor county struggling to compete with the US or Europe.

We organized this event out of the realization that majority of Kenyans are unaware of the full benefits of ICTs. Unfortunately, this includes the professionals and senior Government officials. Indeed, Kenya lags behind in Information Technology both regionally and internationally. Infocom 2003 is indeed a wakeup call for Kenyans to the reality of the global network.

The objective of Infocom 2003 Conference is to educate Kenyans on the benefits of modern Information and Communication Technology to our economic recovery and to explore ways of job creation through use of technology.

The unemployment situation in Kenya has reached an alarming proportion. 40 years after independence, Kenyans are queuing for nights outside foreign embassies desperately trying to get visas to go and search for greener pastures out there!! Today, more than 50% of Kenyans are living below the poverty line! It is a high time that we Kenyans brought this to an end! We all have the responsibility of creating jobs for our children and ourselves right here in our country.

This land is full of unexploited opportunities. We believe that ICTs can create well over 200,000 jobs for Kenyans every year. This is happening in India, China, Singapore and Ghana. It can also happen right here in Kenya.

In the age of the internet, a Company’s location hardly matter. That is starting to make labour little more than a commodity. It is estimated that 3.3 million US jobs will move offshore through Business Process outsourcing by the year 2015. How strategically placed are we to capture some of these, or is this yet another wasted opportunity?

It is indeed possible to successfully borrow a leaf from the Tigers of South East Asia, whose immense growth can be attributed largely to their ability to exploit fully, the benefits of information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet.

We plan to hold awareness events throughout the country throughout the year until Kenya is fully digitized.

Our dream is that in next five years Kenya shall emerge as the Silicon Valley of Africa, where all organizations, including the Government will be running on a digital nervous system. We also dream of producing a few likes of Bill Gates from amongst our young brains.

Ladies and gentlemen, the rapidly improving yet affordable ICTs add up to a gift to the world. Let us make the most out of this gift with the belief that things from here can only get better and the sky is no longer the limit!

For further details about our participation in the 2003 Infocom Conference and Expo, please contact us at marketing@stl-horizon.com