Do you believe that technological solutions can end poverty in Kenya? If the answer is yes, you probably have the following question on your mind: how? Even while there isn’t a single clear-cut way to do this, it is not impossible.
Thanks to new technological innovations, people in Kenya can now survive and thrive in an ever-changing world. Technological innovations in Kenya can provide low-cost methods of keeping people safe, connected, and informed, all of which are essential steps toward a better life.
It provides numerous opportunities to alleviate poverty but may also exacerbate poverty in some areas.
Here are five technological solutions to poverty.
1. Mobile Banking
Mobile banking provides banking services without incurring transaction charges or a traditional, physical bank requirement. It helps alleviate poverty in Kenya by providing a convenient and straightforward way for individuals and families to manage their resources. This allows people to save money without worrying about being robbed.
It boosts women’s economic empowerment due to their more significant influence over household purchasing decisions, children’s education, and family planning use.
In addition, mobile banking also facilitates and improves direct cash transfer operations for humanitarian organisations.
2. Mobile Health Care
Smartphones provide access to medical information that would otherwise be unavailable to the poor. This is rapidly improving the quality of health treatment. One NGO, Malaria No More, uses mobile technology to improve health care conditions. The NGO is sending an automated text to millions of Kenyans as an advertisement,
” Are you and your family sleeping under your nets tonight?” Didier Drogba.
Malaria-prevention sleeping nets are a fantastic technique to lower the disease’s risk. According to the NGO, the number of people sleeping under tents has increased by 12% due to the campaign. You can also check: Some Practices to Prevent Your Smartphone From Damaging
3. Expanding Educational Opportunities
Many children, particularly underprivileged females, have restricted access to school in rural areas. Furthermore, many schools available to rural students have low-qualified teachers and few resources. However, modern technology, such as solar-powered PCs and projectors, allows students to engage in real-time, interactive lectures with qualified instructors.
Eneza Education, a nonprofit educational organization, is an example of that project. The mobile app currently has over 100,000 kids enrolled in 400 schools across Kenya, with plans to expand to over 200,000.
4. Transformed Agricultural Techniques
Mobile technology shines when it comes to exchanging small amounts of information between individuals and groups swiftly. This is proving to be quite beneficial to farmers. Take, for example, the Kenyan mobile platform SokoniSMS64.
The service sends farmers information about the wholesale price of crops via SMS text messages. Farmers, in turn, communicate with one another and with dealers to negotiate fair prices. Other services for farmers with livestock, such as “iCow from M-Farm.” The program can set schedules, arrange feeding regimens, and even include a built-in weather tool to assist farmers plan ahead for the coming days.
5. Access to Safe Drinking Water
Over 750 million people lack access to safe drinking water, and more than 2.5 billion people have insufficient sanitation. Over 1,400 children die from diarrhea caused by contaminated water and poor sanitation daily. According to WaterAid, a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe water and sanitation, access to safe water slows the spread of diseases and returns an average of $4 in enhanced productivity for dollars invested.
Such developments are not impossible to obtain, and modern technology can assist in achieving water and sanitation goals. Practical Action, for example, devised a solution in collaboration with Kenyans from the dry, arid Turkana region.
The organization claimed they created a solar-powered water pump that employs locally sourced technology to pump 30,000 clean liters of clean, safe water to the hamlet daily.
In conclusion, affordable technological solutions help to alleviate poverty in Kenya. Technology must be simple to use and aligned to generate economic growth. We need the political will to implement policies that would boost financial security, broaden possibilities, and expand the middle class.
What are the other technological solutions to poverty in Kenya?
