Konza Technopolis recently put in place a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean Electronic Association (KEA) to construct a Sh. 180 million electronic and information technology manufacturing support centres where Korean tech companies will be working.
“This MoU heralds a new dawn for Konza Technopolis as we enter the next phase of development whereby Korean electronic companies, through their association, will establish a manufacturing support centre enabling the various Korean companies to produce their products locally,” said Mr John Paul Okwiri, Konza Technopolis CEO.
The Korean Electronics Association was established in 1976 and brings together more than 370 of Korea’s major electronics and IT companies such as Samsung, LG and other research institutions. Among those, 17 select firms will take root in Kenya’s smart city.
“We intend to establish an electronic manufacturing support centre in Konza Technopolis, capable of production of electronic products, development of appropriate and skilled workforce and provision of technical support, prototype development production assistance to research institutions, startups, SMEs and Korean companies entering the African market,” said CEO and President of KEA, Chungwon Park PhD.
According to the authority developing Konza, development of the Electronics Manufacturing Support Centre will be established in four phases which are to have a completion time of three years.
The project will include business planning, training in electronics manufacturing and product development phases, setting up manufacturing equipment and operational systems, and expanding operations and enterprise support systems.
It further aims to attain a capacity of at least 10 prototype equipment and an electronics manufacturing support platform. There shall be manufacturing assistance for 100 cases annually, design-manufacturing support for 30 cases and production of 20,000 electronic boards each year.
The centre also plans to help launch 30 products annually, reducing the average production time to six months. It also seeks to train more than 100 people and support over 100 businesses.
Why Konza Technopolis will become the first Smart City in Eastern Africa
“Our key focus is to build business-friendly cooperation, assist local innovators and entrepreneurs accelerate the adoption of AI in their production processes, secure for them the global supply chain and create a healthy ecosystem for ICT industries,” Park added.
Here is a list of Korean tech companies looking to set up in Konza Technopolis:
- xVic – Portable Golf Guides
- Beaunex – Facial masks
- Atech Net – Holographic Imaging Devices
- Dooni Corp – Sound Effectors
- Illumino – UV LED counterfeit detectors
- Rollingseeds – UX game consoles
- Share & Share – Smart door locks
- Goonies – Smart edutainment devices
- Sonic Dutch Korea – Coffee extractors
- Maete – AI functional memory foam pillows
- Gateways – Indoor fitness gaming devices
- Boomengine – Smart flower pots
- AWESOMEAB – Eco-friendly portable water warmers
- Worldhumantec – Personal Portable self-defense devices
- Gkkelab – Self-temperature controlling heat gloves
- Honey IT – ELF Sleep care devices
- BOREA – detachable air sterilizer for vehicles