ICT CS Eliud Owalo launches free wi-fi at Wakulima market in Nairobi on December 13, 2022. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

Over 8,000 traders at Wakulima and Muthurwa markets have every reason to smile after the government installed free Wi-Fi hotspots.

The traders can now use the Internet to trade online at the comfort of their stalls, thanks to the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) ministry.

The launch comes after similar ones at City Market and Kawangware, in an ambitious plan by the government to provide free Internet across the country.

"As a government, we have a plan to launch 25,000 such hotspots to bring Internet to the villages. Next week we shall be in Kiambu,'' said Owalo.

Mitchell Wanjiru, a trader at Wakulima market in Nairobi tries free wi-fi launched by ICT CS Eliud Owalo on December 13, 2022. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

He added: "This is because we have many of our youth who have finished school and have no jobs or businesses. The days of donning ties and sitting in offices are over; what we have are technology-driven jobs where you use your brains and phone or laptop to get paid.'' With free Internet, the CS said, traders can do online marketing and sale of their products.

All Wakulima Market Traders Association chairman Alphaxard Mwangi welcomed the initiative saying members would benefit.