Kenya is positioning itself as a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) with the introduction of the Kenya National AI Strategy 2025–2030 draft. Launched by the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, this ambitious strategy aims to harness AI’s transformative potential to promote social and economic fairness, enhance public services, and drive sustainable development. Its overarching goal is to establish Kenya as a regional hub for AI research, model development, and scalable innovation tailored to Africa’s unique needs.

With a median age of 19 and rising levels of digital literacy, Kenya’s youthful workforce is embracing AI as a transformative technology for the country’s future. This strategy serves as a roadmap to an AI-driven Kenya, ensuring that technological advancements are impactful, inclusive, and ethical. The policy is designed to benefit a wide array of stakeholders, including governmental organisations, startups, academia, civil society, and marginalised communities. 

For government agencies, AI promises enhanced transparency and efficiency in service delivery. Startups and the private sector will gain opportunities to innovate, compete, and grow in global AI markets. Academic institutions will benefit from increased resources and collaboration to advance research, while civil society will see ethical AI practices that foster diversity and guard against misuse. Most importantly, underprivileged communities stand to benefit through reduced inequality and improved access to healthcare, education, and agriculture.

The strategy is built on three core pillars: digital infrastructure, a robust data ecosystem, and AI research and innovation. Digital infrastructure emphasises the need for accessible, modern systems to support AI research and applications. This includes expanding internet penetration beyond the current 40.8%, upgrading Kenya’s fibre optic network, and developing sustainable AI infrastructure through enhancements like machine learning platforms, cloud computing resources, and green energy sources such as geothermal power.

The data ecosystem focuses on creating sustainable frameworks for data collection, sharing, and use. This involves digitising government records to ensure high-quality, accessible datasets, promoting ethical data usage to address privacy and sovereignty concerns, and fostering partnerships between public and private sectors to develop shared datasets for innovation.

Research and innovation aim to position Kenya as a leader in AI model development by supporting local R&D ecosystems. Initiatives include establishing AI research centres to address Africa-specific challenges, such as financial inclusion, healthcare, and food security. The strategy also prioritises advancements in computer vision for agricultural disease detection and medical imaging, as well as the development of natural language processing (NLP) models to accommodate Kenya’s linguistic diversity.

Supporting these pillars are four cross-cutting enablers: governance, talent development, investment, and ethics. Governance will be guided by a dynamic legal and regulatory framework to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical AI deployment. Talent development focuses on building a digitally skilled workforce through AI literacy in school curricula, specialised training, and mentorship programs, particularly for women and underrepresented groups. Investment in AI is essential, and the strategy seeks to attract foreign direct investment, mobilise local venture capital, and create partnerships to share costs and risks. Ethical AI practices are a cornerstone of the strategy, prioritising inclusion, equity, and cultural alignment to ensure AI benefits everyone.

Despite its ambitious vision, the strategy acknowledges significant challenges, including data privacy and sovereignty concerns, infrastructure gaps, talent shortages, and public trust issues. Addressing these obstacles will require transparent governance, ethical AI frameworks, and robust collaboration among stakeholders to realise Kenya’s potential as a leader in artificial intelligence.