Deputy President William Ruto has urged women organisations to embrace new technology to improve service provision.
Ruto said knowledge and skills in technology would ensure efficiency and increase productivity.
Speaking during the launch of Joyful Women Organisation (Joywo) Panguza Programme, a joint initiative with Intel Corporation, Ruto said the country will prosper through science and technology.
Present were Information, Communication and Technology CS Joe Mucheru, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, Mrs Rachel Ruto, the Joywo patron and Intel General Manager, East Africa, Danie Steyn.
“Kenya has hardworking youth and women who can transform the lives of our people if they are helped to get access to technology and credit facilities,” said Ruto.
“We have to think about Kenya of the future where we have more value-added activity to drive growth,” he added.
The Panguza Programme aims at training Joywo women to be technology savvy and competent.
“Unless we embrace technology, we will not achieve our development targets especially now that the world is becoming a global village,” he said.
The Deputy President said the government is giving priority to issues of technology to accelerate development citing the laptop project being rolled out to primary schools across the country.
“Our focus is now on technology. It is better to understand technology so as to be sure of where we are going in the future,” he said during the function held at his Karen official residence on Monday.
He said more than 50 percent of jobs in the public service currently require some level of knowledge in technology noting that in the next few years the situation will be different.
“It is now a good sign that service delivery has improved in most government departments, thanks to technology,” said Ruto.
“If you do not understand issues pertaining to technology, you might not be in business for long or achieve your development goals,” added Ruto.
The Deputy President said women make a more meaningful contribution to the country’s economic growth if they have more access to credit.
He commended Joywo for providing credit facilities to women who in turn initiate income generating activities aimed at transforming their lives and help spur growth.
Ruto called for partnership between the private sector and the government in ensuring challenges facing women are solved.
“It is time the private sector and the government work together to provide more women with opportunities to make a meaningful to contribution to the national economic agenda,” he said.
Duale lauded the role played by Joywo in addressing challenges facing women through provision of credit facilities.
“It is a reality that Joywo has transformed lives of many women especially in rural areas through access to credit facilities that enable them initiate income generating activities,” said Duale.
Mr Steyn said the Corporation will help women access the basic knowledge in technology.
“Most women do not have basic skills of technology that can help them improve on service delivery. We will work with Joywo in assisting women to be self reliant on matters of technology,” she said.
“As a Corporation, we will empower them with skills required to achieve their needs,” he added.
Mucheru said time is ripe for women to embrace technology to cope up with challenges associated with it.
“As the world moves to the technological era, women should not be left behind,” he said.
Mrs Ruto who is also the wife to the Deputy President, said integrating technology in women’s activities remains key to their development.
She said the organization would continue to empower women by integrating technology through their work.
“I am pleased to note that in Intel Corporation we have found a partner that is not only proactive towards committing to this partnership, but is also one of the region’s biggest private sector companies that has taken the lead in women’s empowerment in Africa and globally,” she said.
Intel Head of Corporate Affairs Mark Matunga said the Corporation has so far trained 50 women to be digital adding that plans were underway to train up to 5,000 women in the next five months.
Also present were MP Sabina Chege (Muranga), Principal Secretaries Belio Kipsang (Education), Victor Kyalo (ICT) and Sammy Itemere (Broadcast and Telecommunication).