History of Google Street View / Kenya
In September 2015, Google first introduced coverage in Kenya for the Samburu National Reserve in collaboration with Save the Elephants Foundation and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, with the addition of over 10,000 photos from the National Park to raise awareness for elephant protection in Africa.[1]
In August 2017, Google announced street view using tripods for several traditional houses in different countries, including a traditional Maasai village in Kajiado County.[2]
In April 2017, the Ministry of Tourism And Wildlife of Kenya held discussions for the integration of Google Street View in the country's capital, Nairobi.[3] In December 2017, an exhibition was launched at iHub, a technology innovation hub in Nairobi with approval from the Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy, to conduct several tests on the Google Trekker that were imported into the country to be used for Street View coverage.[4]
In October 2018, Google officially introduced large parts of Kenya's streets to Street View, including major cities such as Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu and Nakuru.[5] In November 2019, Google announced a collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya to digitize several of the country's museums and galleries, including the Nairobi National Museum, Nyeri Museum, Malindi Museum and the Nairobi Art Gallery.[6]
In December 2019, Google announced in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Services and the Ministry of Tourism the integration of street view to about 21 national parks in Kenya.[7]
History
Note: We take into account the date when the coverage was taken, not the date when it was published.
Source: Kenya's Coverage Dates - Emily Geo Website
| Year | Additions |
| 2015 | Samburu National Reserve |
| 2017 |
|
| 2018 |
|
| 2019 |
|
| 2021 | First introduction of Gen 4 cameras to the country |
| 2022 | Wajir and Siaya |
Gallery
Credits: Redpork, Vegetal & Mapper for finding the Gen 3 & 4 Cars
Trekker Tests
Gen 3 Cameras
Gen 4 Cameras
External Resources
- Kenya at Google Street View Cars Mapped
References
Njugunah, M. (2015-09-16) "Google Street View goes to Samburu" CapitalFM Business News.
Seamster, R. (2017-08-16) "There’s no place like home, in Google Earth" Google The Keyword Blog.
"There is no street view for Nairobi streets or other major towns, this new layer of street view imagery will complete virtual Kenya offering" (2017-04-03) - Ministry of Tourism And Wildlife (@Min_TourismKE) at Twitter (Archived Version)
"CS Mr. Joe Mucheru is helped to put on Google map's 360-degree backpack camera for Street View treks during GoogleAfrica 10 event" (2017-12-01) - Ministry of Info, Comms & The Digital Economy KE (@MoICTKenya) at Twitter (Archived Version)
"Kenya Finally Added to Google Street View Map Service" (2018-10-16) The Kenyan Wall Street.
Kendi, G. "Google to digitize National Museums of Kenya collections" (2019-10-01) Citizen Digital.
Rotich, K. (2019-12-04) "Google launches street view for 21 Kenyan parks and conservancy" Business Daily.
