Kenya has an AI strategy. Here is what it asks of the rest of us
The Kenya Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025 to 2030 is a government document, but most of what it needs will be done by companies, schools and individuals.
By Howell Asava, Developer, Vukalink ยท
On 27 March 2025, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy launched the Kenya Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025 to 2030 at the KICC in Nairobi. Strategies like this are easy to ignore. I think this one is worth ten minutes of anyone's time, because it is unusually clear about what is missing.
What it says
The strategy rests on three pillars: digital infrastructure for AI, data, and AI research and innovation. Around them sit four enablers: governance, talent development, investment, and ethics, equity and inclusion. Its stated aim is to position Kenya as a regional leader in AI research, innovation and use, while protecting national interests through data sovereignty, cybersecurity and ethical oversight.
It is candid about the obstacles: skills gaps, fragmented governance, limited access to good data, and too little investment in local AI research. It also names the strengths to build on, including a lively innovation scene, a young population comfortable with digital tools, growing infrastructure and an existing Data Protection Act.
What it asks of the rest of us
A ministry can publish a strategy. It cannot, by itself, train a hundred thousand people to use AI well, collect the local data that makes models useful for Kenyan languages and Kenyan businesses, or build products people pay for. That is our part. A few concrete things I believe the strategy needs from the private sector:
- Build for local conditions first. Software that assumes a fibre connection and a credit card leaves most of the country out.
- Treat data protection as a feature. The Data Protection Act is a foundation the strategy relies on. Products that explain plainly what they send and where will earn trust faster.
- Teach as you sell. Every company deploying AI is, whether it likes it or not, running a training programme for its customers.
Why I mention it on a product site
Vukalink is built in Kenya. Its AI assistant can run on a local model so that nothing leaves the building, it shows the technician exactly what will be sent before anything is sent, and it is paid for by M-Pesa. None of that was designed to fit a government document. But it is reassuring to find the national plan pointing in the same direction.
The full strategy is public. I recommend reading the challenges section in particular.
References
- Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy, Kenya Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030 (PDF)
- Ministry of ICT, Kenya's Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030 launched at the KICC
- OECD.AI, Kenya Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030
Numbers quoted above are as reported by these sources; the opinions are the author's own.