Adam Lane

𝗞𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 In Vienna this week, the State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy won the 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 at the World Broadband Association Broadband Excellence Awards 2026, for 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 — Africas first AI-operated Giga-City. We were shortlisted alongside CTM and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. My sincere thanks to Amb. Valerie Rugene, our Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission @KenyaEmbVienna , who received the award on my behalf and on behalf of the Government and people of Kenya. For those of us who have spent years on this project, what this award validates is not a concept. It is work that was done. A 79-kilometre fibre backbone laid across the city. Smart poles and public Wi-Fi feeding an Intelligent Operations Centre that monitors the city in real time. A wastewater reclamation facility that recovers up to 90 per cent of treated water. An automated underground waste system. The Konza National Data Centre serving government and local businesses. And the The Open University of Kenya, Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Kenya-AIST) and Riara University Univplaced deliberately inside the city, so that research sits next to enterprise. 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻. My appreciation goes to H.E. Dr William Samoei Ruto, whose leadership has kept digital infrastructure at the centre of the national agenda; to the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy; to the Technopolis Development Authority (formerly Konza Technopolis Development Authority); and above all to the engineers, planners, contractors and young innovators who have built Konza line by line, duct by duct, server by server. A word to the young engineers in particular: this award is yours. The world has just confirmed what you already knew — that work done to global standard in Kenya is recognised as global standard. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱. Konza was always meant to be a model others could copy, not a monument others could admire. Our task now is to accelerate it, to connect it to the rest of the country, and to share what we have learned with cities across Africa facing the same questions we faced ten years ago. Asanteni sana.

🎓 Huawei Kenya DigiTruck Graduation: Equipping Keiyo South’s Next Generation of Digital Champions Keiyo is globally renowned as the home of champions. From the high-altitude training grounds, generations of athletes have risen to compete on the world stage. Champions, however, are not made on race day; they are built through discipline, training and persistence. Today in Nyaru, we celebrated another kind of champion — 330 young men and women from Keiyo South who successfully completed a digital literacy programme through the Huawei DigiTruck. Their graduation marks the beginning of a new race: the race for opportunity in a rapidly growing digital economy. The ceremony was graced by Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Hon. @OpiyoWandayi, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Hon. William Kisang, @_ail Lane from Huawei and hosted by the area Member of Parliament, Hon. @GideonKimaiyo_ . Digital transformation must reach every community. While the Government continues to expand connectivity through the National Digital Superhighway and last-mile fibre infrastructure, digital skills remain equally critical to ensuring that citizens can meaningfully participate in the digital economy. Through the solar-powered Huawei DigiTruck, the Keiyo South cohort received practical, hands-on digital skills, bringing training closer to communities that might otherwise face barriers to access. I challenged the graduates to keep moving forward: 1. Teach one other person what you have learned. 2. Take the next step by pursuing advanced digital skills. 3. Build and create, not just consume — use technology to learn, innovate and earn. My appreciation to Huawei Technologies through its @HUAWEI_TECH4ALL initiative and Computers for Schools Kenya (CFSK) for partnering with us to advance digital inclusion. Congratulations to the Keiyo South cohort and the winners of the DigiTruck Innovation Competition. The training may be complete, but the journey has just begun. Also present were officers from @ODPC_KE, @TechnopolisKE , @ICTAuthorityKE among other government officials. @MoICTKenya , @ictdigitalke