Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has launched the first locally assembled laptop.

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The university started assembling the Taifa laptop nine years ago.

The assembling of the laptops was done by JKUAT in partnership with Intel, Microsoft and Inspur, a Chinese company.

The mass production of the Taifa laptops is expected to begin this September at the university's Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park in Juja.

Speaking during the launch at the university's main campus in Juja on Friday, ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i termed the laptop as a noble idea that will facilitate the digital learning program.

“We need about a million laptops by January next year and we are looking up to the Taifa brand as a contributor towards the numbers we need,” he said.

The University’s Vice Chancellor Prof Mabel Imbuga said that Kenya has excelled well in software innovations and it is now time to shine in hardware development.

"Taifa offers a chance to move to hardware that is both competitive and of global standard,” said Imbuga.

This comes in as the Treasury CS Henry Rotich announced the exemption of taxes on importation of parts used in assembling of ICT devices.