Commercial Projects
Kenya Seals Sh37bn Deal for Konza Digital Media City
The project will be funded through Korea Exim Bank.
Kenya has signed a $284.1 million (Sh37.2 billion) funding deal with South Korea for the construction of a media city at the Konza Technopolis in Machakos County.
Known as Konza Digital Media City (DMC), the development is expected to advance Africa’s creative and content sector by providing state-of-the-art facilities. It aims to promote the emerging creative sector and unlock the available opportunities.
“We are pleased to announce that this financing agreement will lead to the realization of our dream to develop Africa’s Silicon Savannah and secure its place in the fast-evolving creative sector,” said ICT Principal Secretary John Tanui during the signing ceremony.
The financing agreement for Konza DMC falls under the Korea Knowledge Sharing and Economic Partnership Programme between Kenya and South Korea.
The deal was signed on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Korea-Africa Summit in Goyang, on the outskirts of the capital Seoul, in an event witnessed by President William Ruto and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol.
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The project will be funded through the Korea Exim Bank under the model of cooperation framework that finances infrastructure and urban development projects. It is going to be set up on a 160-acre piece of land and will be a digital creative and innovation hub.
It will host schools for digital media and related technologies, digital media firms, and post-production studios specializing in gaming, animation, and music.
According to John Okwiri, chief executive of Konza Technopolis, the Konza DMC will be a holistic ecosystem that nurtures content creation and development, therefore bridging the gap between the creative industry and media houses.
“Konza DMC is envisioned to provide a one-stop ecosystem for content creation and development, linking the creative industry with media outlets,” he said.
South Korea has also funded the construction of the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) at the Konza Technopolis.
Modelled after the South Korean-based Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, it features ten research labs run by local and international scholars.
KAIST was scheduled to admit its first batch of Masters and PhD students in September 2022, with the project scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.
(Exchange rate: 1 USD=Sh131)
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