Broadcast Media Africa has learnt that Kenya has signed a US$284.1 million funding deal with South Korea for the construction of a media city at the Konza Technopolis in Machakos County.
Dubbed Konza Digital Media City (DMC), the project positions Kenya’s creative and content sector in Africa by providing state-of-the-art facility to promote the emerging creative industry and unlocking the opportunities available.
“We are pleased to announce that this financing agreement will lead to realising 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 is part of the Korea Knowledge Sharing and Economic Partnership Programme between Kenya and South Korea.
The deal was signed recently in Goyang, on the outskirts of Seoul, during the Korea-Africa Summit, which President William Ruto and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol witnessed.
The Korea Exim Bank will fund the project under the cooperation framework that finances infrastructure and urban development projects. The project, which will be located on a 160-acre piece of land, 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 specialising 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, 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.
