Kenya has made little secret of its ambition to become Africa’s artificial intelligence hub. It has championed sovereign AI infrastructure, backed continental declarations calling for greater local computing capacity, and secured the right to host the 2027 Responsible AI in the Military Domain summit.
Its proposed Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Policy sets out one of the government’s most detailed blueprints yet for how it intends to regulate, build, and commercialise AI.
Far from being a narrow regulatory exercise, the draft policy seeks to reshape the economics of artificial intelligence in Kenya. It encourages investment in local infrastructure, imposes new obligations on companies deploying AI, and gives consumers greater control over how algorithms influence their lives. In doing so, it redraws the balance between those likely to benefit from the AI transition and those who stand to lose.
If adopted, the policy would do far more than regulate AI. It would begin redistributing the costs, opportunities, and economic value of one of the world’s fastest-growing technologies, creating clear winners and losers across Kenya’s digital economy.
Not just a user of AI
