Enabling & Learning Center

Infrastructure remains one of the greatest challenges in rural Kenya. From innovation hubs, learning institutions, Internet services, mobile networks, and access to grid power, people in rural areas have less access than residents in urban areas. Deficiencies in services cascade from key absences. For example, the absence of power means it is harder for telcos to set up mobile networks, and the absence of mobile networks means that fewer people acquire mobile devices. The Kenya Economic Update by the World Bank notes that while 44% of the urban population have access to the internet, only 17% of people in rural areas have access to the same. 

This project aims to facilitate the setting up of ELCs with the needed digital infrastructure within marginalized communities to carry out its programs in education, ICT, health, entrepreneurship, trade skills and information access.

Rural and marginalized communities in Kenya live in socio-economic backwardness and information poverty, yet they can be empowered digitally to improve their lives on their own by providing access to information and knowledge on using digital tools. Individual-level microdata collected between 2005 and 2010 indicates differences in socio-economic and demographic patterns of technology adoption, usage, and skills over time. Inequality in ICT access, use and skills reflects pre-existing inequality in other areas of economy and society. The ICT sector in Kenya is more active in urban areas, resulting in wide regional disparities in the distribution of ICT facilities. Despite the high overall diffusion rates of ICT in Kenya, there remains a clear digital empowerment gap in access and use between various demographic groups. Household income, education and gender are the key determinants of existing digital inequality (ACM DIGITAL LIBRARY)

ELC will provide access to digital infrastructure within marginalized Kenyan communities thereby promote use of ICT among women and youth to improve livelihoods, promote learning, knowledge, information access and improve existing livelihood opportunities.

This project aims to facilitate the setting up of community resource centers dubbed ELCs with the needed digital infrastructure within marginalized or rural communities to carry out its programs in education, ICT, health, entrepreneurship, trade skills and information access.

This project will provide vital, focused skill training and workforce development education to help youths, girls and women become self-sufficient, empower them to match employers demand and become gainfully employed or to start their own venture. 

Among the project core activities will be a focus on investing in women's socio economic well being, health and empowerment by  improving connectivity and technology access for women and girls, particularly in underserved areas, increasing women and girl's access to resources, opportunities, information and increasing opportunities for  income generation in nontraditional sectors  through access to new supply chains and new markets. 

The project seeks to promote the use of ICTs to help communities get increased access to outside institutions, government services and in general provide acess to computers and ICT services.

The project goal is to promote the youth and women’s access to improved and sustainable livelihoods through innovation and ICTs by encouraging an active involvement of the youth, girls and women initiatives that will lead to the achievement of the following objectives;

1. Promotion of use of ICT among women and youth to improve livelihoods.

2. To promote entrepreneurship among women and youth

3. Improving existing livelihoods opportunities. 

These are further broken down into the following specific objectives:

1. Promote access to ICT infrastructure and services within the rural and or marginalized communities.

2. Promote access to accredited courses in Computers and ICT and access to free online courses.

3. Promotion of use of ICT among girls and young women to improve livelihoods.

4. To exploit opportunities available in the ICT industry to better meet youth  employment.

5. To promote entrepreneurship skills among girls, women and the youth. 

6. Increase literacy levels by imparting a basic level Computer Literacy programme for the rural & Semi urban people. 

7. Provide access to information to the  community on issues relating to health, education, governance, employment, development, entrepreneurship, and agriculture best practices using ICTs.

8. Nurture talents through promoting knowledge, skills and projects to empower individuals and communities for development.

Building an inclusive digital economy—that affords everyone the opportunity to lead a dignified and productive life—will require access to digital services for everyone. It will also require reliable infrastructure, devices, and affordable data plans for all, particularly for those who do not have access in remote and rural areas. 

ELC will focus on providing access to digital infrastructure within marginalized communities to facilitate its programs in education, ICT, health, entrepreneurship and information access. These are key determinants for digital inclusion.

Equal access to information and communication has been and is an important issue on government agendas. For this reason, Digital Villages Project (DVP) was created. In Kenya, DVP adopted the name of Pasha Centre, established to address the ICT disparities between urban and rural populations. 

These digital villages are government’s effort to ensure digital inclusion to all citizens, especially those from marginalised communities and the university fraternity. The government does this by taking online services to those living in marginalised areas in order to improve their quality of life. The centres get the online services using internet connected computers and other ICT enabled applications.

Similar initiatives are being carried out by the Kenyan government in partnership with other stakeholders for example the Ajira Digital programme to empower over 1 million youths to get employment.

Enabling and Learning Center is innovative because it is broad and diverse in its service offerings and given that ICT is the key component.

Broadness and diversity is defined by its variety of programmes in education, ICT, entrepreneurship, trade skills, health, information access and community empowerment.

Although emphasis is on youth and women, the project is tailored for all groups of people, i.e. the youths, young women, adult women and men within marginalized communities.

Enabling and Learning Center intends to serve 1000 youths in the next 1 year with a target of 10000 youths in the next 5 years.

Martin Okoth is a professional ICT consultant with a background in technical support, capacity building and training, website and software development.