The Kenya Yearbook Editorial Board (KYEB) Chief Executive Officer Lilian Kimeto has challenged the youth countrywide to utilise their smartphones as their workplace and not an entertainment tool.
Speaking at a Kabarnet Resort Thursday during the start of a two-day county sensitisation forum on the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), Kimeto regretted that a growing number of youths were engaging in non-productive online activities.
She said that the national government has invested heavily in the Digital Superhighway, which is a central pillar of BETA, aiming to create jobs and foster a digital economy for close to 18 million Kenyan youth.
“Let us sensitise our youth to venture into online jobs and freelance gigs and earn income from them,” Kimeto said.
She noted that quite a number of the youth are already online citizens, but they need support on how they can monetise their skills and talents in the various social media platforms.
The CEO who also advocated for skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI), said some jobs in the near future will depend on individuals who are acquainted with them.
Kimeto flanked by Dr Loice Rono, Health Advisor in the Office of the President and Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa, noted that the AI knowledge was key because “if you don’t have the skills, you are going to be a stranger citizen in a digital world which will define your nature of work.”
The multi-agency exercise being spearheaded by the Executive Office of the President seeks to review the five pillars of BETA including agricultural transformation, micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) economy, healthcare, housing and settlement, and digital superhighway and creative industry.
By Benson Kelio and Joshua Kibet
