Kenya positioned as Africa's next AI innovation hub

As global conversations around artificial intelligence continue to be dominated by Silicon Valley and billion-dollar tech firms, African technology leaders are increasingly pushing a different narrative, one centred on accessibility, entrepreneurship and African ownership of AI innovation.

Speaking during the ongoing AI Everything Summit in Nairobi, Amadou Daffe, the CEO and co-founder of pan-African AI company Gebeya, said Kenya now has an opportunity to position itself not just as a consumer of artificial intelligence tools developed abroad, but as a continental hub for AI entrepreneurship.

Daffe noted that Nairobi has already established itself as one of Africa’s leading technology ecosystems through innovations such as M-PESA and the rapid growth of the fintech sector, arguing that the next phase of innovation could be driven by AI-powered business creation tools.

“For years, conversations about artificial intelligence have largely been framed around Silicon Valley, billion-dollar valuations, and increasingly powerful frontier models. Yet for countries like Kenya, the more important AI story may not be about who builds the largest models, but about who gains the ability to create with AI in the first place,” Daffe said.

The company recently partnered with African technology firm VukaOS to integrate  AI-powered business ideation and go-to-market capabilities into its Dala Studio platform.

Through the partnership, users can build apps, websites, AI agents, videos, games and digital products using natural language prompts without requiring traditional coding skills.

According to Daffe, the initiative is aimed at lowering barriers that have historically locked out many young Africans from participating fully in the digital economy due to limited access to software engineering expertise, developers and startup capital.

“AI-native creation tools have the potential to lower those barriers dramatically. A university student in Nairobi or Mombasa can now build and launch a digital business using AI-assisted tools with little or no coding experience. That changes who gets to innovate,” he said.

The push comes at a time when Kenya, like many African countries, is grappling with rising youth unemployment and a rapidly expanding population, placing pressure on governments and private sector players to create new economic opportunities.

Industry players argue that AI-powered entrepreneurship could offer an alternative path by enabling young people to commercialise ideas, access international markets and create digital businesses without large upfront investments.

Daffe compared the current AI shift to how mobile technology allowed Kenya to leapfrog traditional banking infrastructure through the success of M-PESA, saying AI tools could similarly help Africa bypass traditional startup limitations.

Beyond Kenya, Gebeya is also expanding AI entrepreneurship initiatives across the continent.

The company recently partnered with Miva Open University in Nigeria to provide more than 25,000 students with practical AI creation tools designed to help them build and launch digital businesses while still studying.

The partnership reflects a growing movement among African technology firms and educational institutions to move higher education beyond theoretical learning and toward practical, AI-enabled entrepreneurship.

Analysts say Nairobi’s growing prominence in AI conversations, combined with Kenya’s strong startup culture and mobile technology success story, positions the country as a potential leader in shaping African-owned AI ecosystems.

Daffe said the long-term goal is to ensure that AI creation itself becomes accessible to millions more Africans, rather than limiting participation to a small number of highly technical developers.

“Kenya has already shown the world that African innovation can reshape industries. The next chapter is ensuring that AI creation itself becomes accessible to millions more Africans,” he said.