#19
TESPOK
In conformity with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), specifically SDG #9 focused on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG #10 concerned with Reduced Inequality, as well as SDG #11 targeting Sustainable Cities and Communities, Technology Service Providers of Kenya’s (TESPOK) scope of work encompasses corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an integral part of its day-to-day operations.
In particular and of note, in a bid to SDG #10, TESPOK launched the inaugural Autism Half-Marathon on the 7th of October 2022. The marathon, a historic CSR milestone themed ‘Be a Hero: Accept, Understand and Love’, is tailored towards fundraising and rallying support for children living with Autism.
While addressing stakeholders during the launch, the company’s visionary CEO, Ms Asonga, noted that the now to be annual marathon is geared to augment Autism research towards determining the statistics on Autism cases across Kenya. “As part of its commitment to this cause, TESPOK will endeavour to spearhead this initiative to reduce the stigma, create more awareness and understanding on Autism across Kenya,” she said.
Fiona further notes that part of TESPOK’s CSR is to become a problem solver to all communities. “We aim to be an organisation that successfully balances the importance of achieving corporate objectives alongside the responsibility of contributing towards the development of communities around us. Therefore, hosting this marathon, it is totally in line with our objective of being a socially responsible entity that transforms the lives and livelihoods of Kenyan communities, besides further strengthening its relationship with its members,” she commented.
What’s more, Nairobi Women Representative, Esther Passaris, has pledged to partner with TESPOK towards the initiative of inclusive education in the county for the Autistic children. This is in line with SDG #4, Quality Education.
The marathon, first of its kind in Africa, was inspired by the troubling statistics presented by the Autism Society of Kenya (ASK), a parent-driven institution established in 2013. The ubiquity of Autism in Kenya is today rated higher than the global average, with one autistic child among every 25 children. However, this data is based on a sample; the actual number of autistic individuals still remains unknown.
TESPOK’s campaign aims at putting in place modalities with affected stakeholders that will support a larger number of autistic children. By focusing on having affected stakeholders, including parents, represented in the organisation of the marathon, TESPOK is keen on ensuring a well-coordinated approach that benefits all affected children. This is intended to strengthen the support systems for autistic children by helping the larger community understand the need to care about the affected persons amongst us.
The race was held on November 27th 2022, at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi County. The marathon’s races included 21 KM men and women, 10 KM men and women, 5 KM and 2 KM for autistic children. The marathon attracted over 1,000 participants and 30 elite runners. The winners of the half marathon race earned Ksh 300,000, while the second and third-placed athletes went home with Ksh 150,000 and Ksh75,000 respectively.
The Athletics Kenya Technical Director, George Kariuki, applauded TESPOK for choosing to take the proceeds to an autistic charity, adding that the issue has for a long time been swept under the carpet. The guest of honour at the marathon, Ferdinand Omanyala, spent time with the autistic children, appreciating and doing some bead work with them. Omanyala expressed interest in championing this cause for a while, so as to see some impact on the lives being touched. He stated, “This has been a learning point to expand my knowledge of autism.”
21 years ago, TESPOK launched Kenya’s first Internet Exchange Point (KIXP), leading to citizens enjoying more efficient internet speeds within the nation. Naturally, with more businesses moving towards the online realm, KIXP has vastly boosted digital economic development. TESPOK, through the services of the KIXP, has significantly contributed towards making Kenya an ICT hub of the East African region.
In 2018, TESPOK partnered with the East Africa Community (EAC) and the African Union Commission (AUC) to help with the expansion of cross-border interconnection regulations. This has been extremely advantageous to operators who serve customers across borders. Furthermore, the expansion has allowed even more operators to be able to serve their customers through the respective internet exchange points across countries, with the recognition of existing licences of their countries of origin.
deployment of 100,000kms of Fiber for a digital superhighway.
TESPOK is actively partaking in synchronising the distribution of ICT infrastructure in conjunction with other vital infrastructure such as the Nairobi Expressway. This has heavily contributed in reduction of downtime and preventing destruction of ICT infrastructure during the deployment of other critical utilities such as power. The Digital Economy Blueprint, developed by a team that TESPOK was a major player in, was launched at the Transform Africa (Rwanda) in 2019. The document serves as a template to help African countries adapt to the digital economy and in turn, discover new economic possibilities created by future industries and markets.
TESPOK participated in setting up the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act in 2016 to 2018. The major objective of the Act is to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer systems, programs and data. In addition, the Act facilitates the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and punishment of cyber-criminal activity.
TESPOK is a specialist, non-profit organisation representing the interests of technology service providers in Kenya. Founded in 1999, the strength of the institution is based on its ability to be accurately representative of the Kenyan industry as a whole. Steered by the discerning Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) specialist Ms Fiona Asonga as CEO, TESPOK is geared towards a vision of ICT growth and development in the country, while doing good in the community.
As TESPOK continues to reach out to the global community concerning matters of ICT growth, development and innovation, the organisation remains true to being an ambassador of corporate social responsibility.
