International IBM Team in Kenya to spur innovation among youth

What you need to know:

The Corporate Service Corps is a global IBM initiative designed to provide small businesses, educational institutions and non -profit organizations in growth markets with sophisticated business consulting and skills development to help improve local conditions and foster job creation.

IBM deploys teams of top employees from around the world representing information technology, research, marketing, finance and business development to growth markets for a period of one month.

Africa remains a special focus for IBM'S Corporate Service Corps, as the program's benefits match Africa's need for highly skilled problem solvers to develop technology infrastructure, as well as civic, business and social institutions.

Corporate Service Corps has deployed approximately more than 300 of IBM's most talented employees on approximately 40 teams to South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt.

The company announced in September 2011 that it will double the number of emerging leaders it sends on pro-bono assignments to Africa during the next three years, and plans to send roughly 600 employees to Africa through 2015.

An international team of 12 IBM consultants from 10 countries has arrived in Kenya to begin a series of one-month projects in Machakos.

The consulting team is part of IBM's Corporate Service Corps programme, which dispatches top talent IBMers around the world to help governmental and non-governmental organisations and on a pro bono basis to plan and complete projects that intersect business, technology and society.

The experts will work alongside the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MoHEST), The Kenya Association of Manufacturers, and the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat (VDS) on key initiatives that address the need for economic growth in Kenya.

"IBM recognises the strategic role young talent within the ICT sector is playing in leapfrogging the economies of countries experiencing exponential growth,” said Anthony Mwai, Country general Manager for IBM East Africa.

“The youth in Kenya have been instrumental in driving innovation for the technology sector through initiatives such as iHub and iLab and we need to support them by creating a sustainable enabling environment.”

Under the umbrella of the Science Technology Innovation (STI), MoHEST is developing a National Innovation of system as a framework to harness and diffuse knowledge for the achievement of national goals. A key focus of MoHEST is to identify, harmonise and enhance interactions among the actors .

IBM's team will assist in the construction of tools and enhance local capacity to capture, understand and address the diverse, ongoing innovations spearheaded by the youth at Kenya's colleges and universities.

Currently, several young innovators in Kenya are working on various software development and mobile phone innovations within initiatives like iHub and iLab.

The IBM team will also partner with the Ministry of Planning through the Vision 2030 Secretariat to define existing gaps and possible interventions in line with the Vision 2030 goals.

Vision 2030 is the country's economic blueprint which has identified strategic growth pillars which will help boost Kenya's economic growth over the next 20 years.

The team will work with the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat (VDS) to develop a framework to monitor the status of, and clearly outline key performance milestones for, Vision 2030 flagship projects.

This will contribute towards further transparency and accountability to both key stakeholders and citizens.

In addition, IBM will also help the Kenya Association of Manufacturers secretariat expand its membership base through understanding and addressing the numerous requirements of its diverse members. KAM has 522 members drawn from small and medium enterprises, service organizations, and large corporations.

The projects on which IBM experts will focus for the next month are coordinated by the Digital Opportunity Trust.

Previous IBM Corporate Service Corps projects in Kenya have seen IBM experts provide advice on implementing a "Digital Village” program. IBM experts have also provided counsel on improving the country’s ability to develop and retain top-end technology talent; modernizing the national postal service; and establishing a framework for e-government, including electronic voting.

IBM deploys teams of top employees from around the world representing information technology, research, marketing, finance and business development to growth markets for a period of one month.

Since the launch of the Corporate Service Corps in 2008, nearly 1,400 IBM employees based in 50 countries have participated in more than 120 team assignments in more than two dozen countries.