Kenya adds to the list of African countries with a national AI strategy, positioning it as the 16th African country outlining its vision and positioning with respect to the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In a landmark event through the Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy (MICDE), the Kenya National AI strategy (2025- 2030) was launched, outlining the government’s commitment to positioning Kenya as a regional leader in AI research and development, innovation and commercialization for socioeconomic development. Grounded by the government’s agenda towards digital transformation, the CS MICDE, Hon . William Kabogo reflected on the significance of this strategy, noting Kenya’s positioning as a tech leader not only regionally but also globally noting the strategy as a key pillar for initiatives prioritizing digital infrastructure, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.

Journey to the Development of the Strategy

AI development priorities leading to the strategy have been informed by a series of core initiatives and documents, with the first being the AI and Blockchain report, ‘Emerging technologies for Kenya: Exploration and Analysis’ in 2019, which looked into application and use of emerging technologies in line with advancing the big four agenda.¹ The National Digtial Masterplan 2022-2032, a comprehensive ten-year strategy for advancing Kenya’s digital transformation, detailed numerous projects and initiatives across key pillars: digital infrastructure, digital government services, digital skills, and digital innovation and entrepreneurship, identifying foundational themes such as policy and legal frameworks, research and development, data protection, and emerging technologies that will underpin digital evolution in Kenya.²

Specific to AI, the master plan explicitly identifies AI as a significant emerging technology and the government’s active involvement in AI initiatives, both as a regulator and a promoter of research and development.³ These core instruments informed the process towards the development of the National AI Strategy, which began in April 2024.

The process of the first inception workshop, the development of the steering committee and technical working group, was mandated by the strategy’s development, throughout the year leading up to the launch, followed by a series of workshops, stakeholder meetings, community engagements, key informant interviews, and public participation through a call for comments. Details on this are accessible through the strategy methodology section.

Key Highlights of the National AI Strategy

The Strategy speaks to several themes outlining the Kenyan AI Ecosystem with specific focus areas aligned with various flagship projects towards advancing AI use in Kenya. Key observations :

• Vision for Regional Leadership: The strategy presents Kenya’s aspiration to position itself as Africa’s leading AI hub for model innovation, research and development (R&D), and commercialisation. This is significant as the strategy aims for Kenya to be a leader in AI research and application on the continent, creating solutions tailored to its unique needs and those of the African continent. This involves Kenya being a consumer and a producer of AI through becoming a net exporter of high-quality AI technology and services. Data and AI sovereignty are elements reflected in the strategy, considering Kenya’s positioning globally and regionally. ⁴

• Emphasis on Foundational Pillars: The strategy is built upon three key foundational pillars: AI Digital Infrastructure, Data, and AI Research and Innovation. Notably, the focus on AI Digital Infrastructure highlights the need for accessible and affordable AI infrastructure and a modernised national digital infrastructure with advanced connectivity (like 5G), expanded local data centres for high-performance computing (HPC), and secure data storage. The strategy also considers leveraging green energy sources for this infrastructure, which aligns with the emphasis on Digital Infrastructure in the Kenya National Digital Master Plan 2022-2032.

The Data pillar underscores the necessity of establishing a robust and sustainable data ecosystem for AI and innovation. This includes creating a data governance framework, ensuring secure data sharing, and developing quality AI training datasets.

The AI Research and Innovation pillar is central to the vision of global leadership in AI model development. It emphasizes developing cutting-edge localised AI models and solutions through thriving local R&D, innovation, and commercialisation.

• Focus on Priority Use Cases: The strategy identifies priority use cases for AI in healthcare, education, agriculture, and the public sector. This targeted approach indicates a practical orientation towards applying AI for tangible impact.

• Prioritization of Cross-Cutting Enablers: Supporting the foundational pillars are four key enablers: Governance, Talent Development, Accelerating Investments, and fostering a culture of Ethics, Equity, and Inclusion. AI Governance in the strategy focuses on developing an agile legal and regulatory framework to guide ethical AI deployment, data privacy, and public accountability. On the other hand, talent development is noted in promoting AI literacy across all demographics and developing a skilled workforce through integrating AI into education and partnerships for talent development. This corresponds to the “Digital Skills” pillar in the Digital Master Plan.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: The strategy recognises the need for accelerated investments from both the public and private sectors. This is especially significant when considering the involvement of stakeholders within the Kenyan AI ecosystem and more widely at a regional and global scale. Critical to this was the introduction of the normative stakeholder framework, a framework through which stakeholders can be mapped and identified. Developed by CIPIT researchers in the paper Framing AI through an African Lens, the stakeholder framework identifies stakeholders in the ecosystem through authenticity, fair economic opportunity and legitimacy and political equality, all pointing towards establishing accountabilities and responsibilities of stakeholders in the ecosystem.

• Focus on Addressing Key AI Concerns: The strategy explicitly addresses key concerns of Kenyan citizens, including labour disruptions, ethical AI and human rights, regulatory preparedness, local innovation and competitiveness, public sector efficiency, and sustainable AI development. This indicates a proactive approach to mitigating the potential negative impacts of AI.

• Emphasis on Local Context and Inclusivity: A strong component of the strategy is the emphasis on developing AI solutions rooted in Kenyan values and contexts, leveraging local data and talent, and incorporating indigenous knowledge and local languages. The strategy prioritizes inclusivity and non-discrimination, ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared across all segments of society and that underserved communities are not left behind.

The strategy’s development involved extensive consultations with a wide range of stakeholders from the government, private sector, academia, civil society, international partners, and local communities. The strategy proposes a phased approach to ensure effective implementation, starting with foundational investments in policy, infrastructure, and capacity-building, followed by key milestones and a monitoring and evaluation framework.

The Strategy from a Regional and Global AI Governance Perspective.

The Kenya AI Strategy 2025-2030 more holistically places Kenya within the global and regional AI landscape by outlining an ambitious vision for regional leadership and acknowledging and engaging with international trends and the African context.

Regionally, the strategy aligns with the AU AI Continental Strategy launched in June 2024, on the overarching goal of harnessing the transformative potential of AI in driving socio-economic growth and development. Both strategies focus on sector-specific AI use cases as priority areas through which AI can be continuously leveraged. The focus is on health, agriculture, education, finance and public service. Notably, there is emphasis on building AI capabilities, including infrastructure (energy, broadband, computing), AI talent and skills, datasets, research and innovation and a commitment to ethical and responsible use of AI. On the governance front, AI governance is a strategic theme towards creating an agile AI legal and regulatory landscape to address AI risks and the further development of AI regulatory frameworks.

The alignment positions Kenya as a significant stakeholder and contributor towards the larger African AI ecosystem, contributing not only in terms of development and use but also towards advancing Africa’s AI narrative on a global scale.

Additionally, the alignment displays the growth and potential of Kenya and the continent at large regarding the impact of AI socioeconomically and politically, emphasising ethics and responsible AI development reflected through the principles and data sovereignty.

Globally, observations have been made as to the strategic timing of the strategy, underscoring Kenya’s strategic role in shaping how emerging economies integrate AI, making it a critical market for tech investment, regulatory foresight, and ethical AI development.⁵ Kenya’s framework reflects a growing Global South approach to AI, prioritizing responsible innovation, human rights, and local data ecosystems, thus necessitating a need for considering and adapting regulatory models that consider the balance between national control and international standards.

Image is from ict.go.ke