Kenya Leads Africa in AI Adoption Ahead of Global Tech Summit

Kenya has emerged as Africa’s leading adopter of artificial intelligence, with more than 35 percent of organizations reporting advanced or widespread deployment, according to a report by Zoho, based on research by Arion Research.

The study finds that firms are prioritizing AI in customer service (54.8 percent) and software development (51.2 percent), while skills investment is concentrated in data analysis (63.1 percent) and prompt engineering (44.2 percent). Zoho describes Kenya as a model of youth-driven, privacy-conscious AI adoption among emerging markets.

The findings come ahead of GITEX Kenya and AI Everything Kenya, scheduled for May 19–21. The event will begin with an Inclusive AI Summit at the Sarit Expo Centre before moving to the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

More than 500 companies and 10,000 executives are expected, with discussions spanning AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and agritech.

Momentum is underpinned by Kenya’s National AI Strategy 2025–2030, which aims to harness AI for economic development. According to Ernst & Young, regulatory reforms and investment are supporting growth across healthcare, agriculture, education, security, and financial services.

AI could add up to US$2.4 billion to Kenya’s GDP by 2030, with 68 percent of firms expected to fully adopt the technology by 2026. GITEX’s expansion into Kenya signals rising global confidence in the country’s position as a regional technology hub.