Kenya is transforming. This year, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) is set to release internet balloons into the sky. In 2018, it was announced that the Loon project would bring the internet to remote parts of Kenya.
Kenya already runs on mobile phones. There are only 70,000 fixed landlines for the 50 million people who live in Kenya. However, there are almost 43 million mobiles, meaning the East African country has the 33rd highest mobile phone usage in the world.
This’ll be the project’s first deal in Africa, and it’ll see Loon working with Telkom Kenya to get high-speed internet to the East African country’s rural and suburban populations – which has been traditionally difficult to connect with, due to infrastructure gaps.
Credit: @Kireyonok_Yuliya
Loon started in 2016, but despite a lot of coverage at the time, only recently became a company in it’s own right. It will be using high-flying balloons powered by onboard solar panels as Wi-Fi carriers to deliver signals from above. The balloon will float above Kenya, at 60,000 feet (20 km) above sea level. This means that it will be high over air traffic, wildlife and weather events.
Back in July, Loon CEO Alastair Westgart said “Loon’s mission is to connect people everywhere by inventing and integrating audacious technologies […] We couldn’t be more pleased to start in Kenya.”
Kenya has been at the forefront of digital transformation in Africa for some time – and a discussion point. In her debut book, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Kenya, Nanjala Nyabola argues that current scholarship about ‘tech in Africa’ tends to be framed in overly simplistic terms. Development agencies have a long history for being overly optimistic and simplifying problems, but it fails to account agency and the politics in offline spaces that have everything to do with what happens online.
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Oversimplifying complex problems can often lead to barriers, especially when it comes to digital government and diplomacy. Throwing a spotlight on Kenya, Nyabola refused to engage with the naive and occasionally dangerous idea that more technology will always lead to more democracy.
Although, Nyabola identifies some positive trends, such as the success of the #MyDressMyChoice feminist movement. Digital platforms have already had a dramatic impact on political life in Kenya and have transformed existing social structures. For traditionally marginalised groups, such as people with disabilities, digital spaces have allowed Kenyans to build new communities which transcend old ethnic and gender divisions – but, as Nyabola is quick to point out – the picture is not always as wholesome as it seems.
Investors are still very optimistic about Nairobi and find Kenya an attractive and compelling place for business and technology. Although a cornerstone of Kenya’s is still agriculture, which employs roughly 80% of the population. Nairobi has an increasing number of tech startups.
Furthermore, the government has recently announced that it will pilot a digital ID system, but also it is set to have its first-ever paperless national population and housing census in August this year.
Kenyans should expect a significant change to their infrastructure in rural areas and better connectivity, as well as how it interacts with the government. There may be attempts to contain new online movements by elites and problems with disinformation, but whilst large companies are willing to invest in the region, we should expect there will be big ‘good news’ stories to come. However, it important to not let good news overshadow the stories where the gaps have been too big – as these are the ones we will need to capture learning.
Further reading:
Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Kenya by Nanjala Nyabola
onsundays.tech.blog 