NAIROBI, Feb. 27 -- Chinese firm Huawei has announced the appointment of Dean Yu as the new CEO for Kenya to help speed up the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services in the country.

A statement from Huawei Kenya said on Thursday that Dean will now be responsible for day-to-day business operations and thus create greater opportunities to share the latest technology Huawei has to offer for the local market.

"Part of the new CEO's mandate will be to ensure that Huawei delivers ICT products and solutions to telecommunication operators, enterprises and end-users in Kenya," the firm said.

The change of guard comes at a time when the East African nation is emphasizing the use of ICT in the development agenda towards transforming the country in its quest to achieve Vision 2030 goals.

During his take-over, Dean pledged to stay committed to be a long-term investor in the Kenyan market through strengthening crucial partnerships with local vendors and operators.

"Kenya's ICT industry is set to experience exponential growth. It's therefore an exciting time for me to spearhead our business efforts here for greater value," Dean said.

The new CEO is also keen on creating job opportunities, enabling knowledge transfer, supporting local innovation and nurturing local talent.

"It's our belief that our continuous innovative, customized, affordable and value-added products and solutions will impact the development agenda of this country by powering and accelerating economic growth," Dean said.

With more than 12 years in the telecommunication industry, Dean is set to drive the company's three core business sectors: Carrier, Enterprise and Consumer to the local market.

Carrier network, which provides connectivity and broadband, is so far the company's core business. The business group (carrier) accounts for 70 percent of total revenue, majorly serving mobile phone firm, Safaricom Limited and Telkom/Orange.

Under his tenure, Dean intends to aggressively focus on the enterprise and consumer market segments with products and services targeting the national and county government as well as end users.