Kenya struggles with high unemployment and poverty rates. In 2014, Kenya’s unemployment rate for citizens aged between 15 and 35 was 67%. Throughout the past decade, Kenya has seen significant developments due to Konza Technopolis, a government-sanctioned project to make Kenya an industrialized nation. By emphasizing the industrial aspect of Kenya’s economy, the nation can stimulate its economy and thereby improve the living conditions of impoverished Kenyans. Now, thanks to a three-year-old startup company, semiconductor manufacturing in Kenya has progressed even further and the nation is currently the premier semiconductor manufacturer across all of Africa.

Semiconductor Technologies Limited

Although most semiconductors are made in the United States, China and other heavily industrialized nations, Kenya is beginning to enter the semiconductor manufacturing sphere through the startup company Semiconductor Technologies Limited.

Semiconductor Technologies Limited, or STL, is succeeding in its mission to be the leading organization for semiconductor manufacturing in Kenya. The company was founded by Anthony Githinji, who started work on semiconductors in the United States in 1997 before bringing his knowledge back to Kenya. Githinji also strives to integrate technology into his local community. For instance, he helped to establish a computer lab in a village near Mount Kenya in hopes that it would educate children and help their families.

STL also strives to promote the female workforce in semiconductor manufacturing in Kenya. Of the roughly 100 engineers employed at STL, 70% are women. The company inspires women in the STEM field, thanks partly to the STL’s strong human resource development program. STL hopes to cultivate new talent by encouraging internships and by collaborating with other universities in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in the future.

What Are Semiconductors?

Semiconductors are small materials that conduct electricity and are often found on circuit boards in electronics. As the “brain” of the electronic system, they are a necessary component in most electronic devices and related products. Semiconductors can be found in many consumer products, such as refrigerators, microwaves, laptops, mobile phones and video game consoles. Manufacturing semiconductors is in high demand, as the products made with those chips are near-essential in everyday modern life. 

What Is Silicon Savannah?

Konza Technopolis, also known as “Africa’s Silicon Savannah,” is Kenya’s hub for technological innovation and development, located 60 miles southeast of Nairobi. Much like San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, the Kenyan government strives to use the Konza Technopolis project to make the country a technological powerhouse on the level of other industrialized nations. Semiconductor Technologies Limited is one of many successful projects in Silicon Savannah, but the company is especially unique in its potential role in fighting Kenyan poverty.

STL’s Impact on Poverty

Significant evidence is that semiconductor manufacturing in Kenya may impact the nation’s poverty level. Between 2011 and 2012, Kenyan Internet bandwidth per user increased from 4500 megabits per second to 24000 megabits per second. The African mobile phone boom of the 2010s resulted in more families having access to functioning mobile phones than clean water or electricity. This opportunity allowed development researchers such as the International Centre for Tax and Development to use mobile phone software for development in the country. In particular, several of Kenya’s impoverished communities benefited from convenient phone applications for texting, health care and banking. In 2014, 66% of non-cash-based transactions in Kenya were done through mobile money payment systems.

By manufacturing semiconductors in Africa, Semiconductor Technologies Limited has a golden opportunity to help develop Kenya and fight against poverty. Technology is proven to assist in developing impoverished communities in the country, and therefore, the investment in additional technological efforts can only lead to a brighter future for Kenya.

– Liam Kahan
Photo: Unsplash