Kenya's National AI Strategy, eighteen months in

Kenya launched its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030 at the KICC in Nairobi on 27 March 2025, according to the ICT ministry. The strategy rests on three pillars: AI digital infrastructure, data and governance, and research and innovation, and is to be implemented in phases over five years, as EY's summary notes.

Eighteen months later, the strategy has been joined by two important documents, and a lot of debate.

What has happened since

A draft policy. The ministry has published a draft Kenya AI and Emerging Technologies Policy, 2026, meant to tie together the AI strategy, the Digital Master Plan and the Data Protection Act. It proposes an AI and Emerging Technologies Council for strategic oversight, supported by an office for coordination and performance tracking, Africa AI News reported.

A Senate bill. The Artificial Intelligence Bill, 2026, a private member's bill, would create an AI Commissioner with powers over high-risk AI systems, and penalties for breaches. Kenya's AI Bill explained.

Sector moves. Ministries and agencies are adopting digital and AI tools, from agriculture, where a draft digital agriculture policy encourages AI, drones and sensors, to health, where the Social Health Authority is moving providers onto a new information system. 8.9 million registered farmers · SHA's digital deadline.

What is still missing

Commentators have pointed to several gaps:

• Coordination: a strategy, a policy and a bill from different arms of government need to fit together.
• Funding: the creative economy and digital superhighway budget line was reduced this year, KBC reported.
• Compute and data: plans for local infrastructure and shared datasets in Kenyan languages are still early.
• Skills at scale: training for businesses, civil servants and teachers, not just engineers.
• Clarity for businesses: what counts as high-risk, and what small firms must do.

What businesses can do meanwhile

The strategy's success will depend as much on businesses as on government. Companies that adopt AI responsibly, building skills, protecting data and being honest with customers, create the practical experience that good policy needs.

• Comply with the Data Protection Act today; it already covers personal data used in AI.
• Join consultations when drafts are published.
• Train your team in responsible AI use.
• Keep records of how you use AI.

A small part of the picture

Signals to watch in 2027

A few milestones will show how the strategy is going: whether the AI Bill moves through committee and in what form, whether the draft policy is adopted and its council set up, what the next budget allocates to digital infrastructure and skills, whether new data-centre investments are announced, and whether shared datasets in Kenyan languages appear. Each is a concrete test of the strategy's ambitions.

Tari Studio is one Kenyan contribution to the strategy's "research and innovation" ambitions: AI images and video tuned for African scenes, people and languages, built in Nairobi for businesses across the continent. Strategies set direction. Products in people's hands decide whether it was the right one.