The following was contributed by ASFL local coordinator Olanrewaju Elufisan

For the second time in a row, Nairobi has been shortlisted among the world’s Smart 21 communities of 2015 which makes it the most intelligent city in Africa, tenth in the world and the only city from the continent to make the cut, according to the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) – A New York based international think tank.

The concept of a ‘Smart City’ or an ‘Intelligent Community’ as it is, is the effective maximization of opportunities presented by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to build prosperous economies, solve social problems and enrich local cultures. According to ICF, Intelligent communities are those that have taken conscious steps to create an economy that can prosper in the broadband economy.

As Africa’s ‘smartest city’, Nairobi has proven it has a thing for other African cities to learn from as no other city has achieved this feat, save for Cape Town in 2008. Robert Bell, ICF’s co-founder in a statement said “we see a strong foundation being put into place in Nairobi: sensible, pro-growth government policy, a more diversified economy and an innovation ecosystem of startups, international companies and universities. He added that “Nairobi made it to the list because of its level of Innovation”

With a mobile penetration of 75.4 percent in 2012, a 20 percent IT sector average growth rate between 2000-2010 and 17.6 percent High tech exports as a proportion of total exports in 2012, Nairobi has potentials to marvel the world if it continues with the ongoing trend.

The recognition of this achievement to have built an inclusive prosperous economy on the basis of ICT did not happen without efforts. The liberalization of the communications sector in the late nineties to deliver reliable and affordable services to citizens through competitiveness started the process. This  enhanced the city’s mobile penetration and the use of mobile money transfer services, especially M-Pesa which, according to the think tank, handles $320 million in monthly payments and is responsible for driving penetration even further as it also introduces banking services to low-income earners in rural areas.

Also, the government’s unwavering commitment to making ICT one of the nation’s economic pillars in its vision 2030 development plan through its policies have greatly added to its progressive status and is why companies like Google, Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm among other international firms, have set up base in Nairobi.

In 2010, the government rolled out an initiative called Pasha Centres (Digital Villages) that will diffuse ICT know-how to the rural and marginalized areas to address regional disparities. These centres are run by entrepreneurs.

Additionally, the Government has a plan to set up a technology park at Konza, which is part of the Vision 2030 Flagship Programmes with an objective of developing an ICT park to serve as an enabler to wealth and job creation as well as being an avenue to provide the necessary environment to attract investment, reinforce efficient linkages between the private and public sector, promote the acquisition and usage of ICT in the country and promote good ICT governance.

The partnerships between the private sector and universities to equip practical skills of students are also an added value. For instance, an IBM Africa Lab, located at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, focuses on three key research areas which include digitization of public service through e-governance solutions; urban development and planning; and ICT skills training.

As a result of these intentional efforts to create a knowledge-based economy, an innovation ecosystem has been developed through iHub -which as a model, has allowed tech entrepreneurs develop and launch innovative products for the betterment of the citizens through educational apps, digitization of infrastructure and so on.

The broadband economy has made it easy for the hard-working people of Nairobi to live right next door to the people of Boston, Beijing and Lagos, to collaborate and cooperate across time zones and cultures. It has boosted productivity, created employment through skills and knowledge exportation and has improved living standards.

Smart cities make smart citizens, who in the end create new ways of doing things; it is to this fact that Nairobi’s intelligence is a model to all of Africa. Barriers will be put down, information will be cheap and readily available and in little or no time poverty will diffuse in the light of knowledge if Africa becomes more intelligent through concerted efforts.