Kenya is getting something right.

Firmly at the forefront of Africa's emerging technology landscape, Kenya is rapidly attracting international interest.

Known as the Silicon Savannah, the country boasts some of the most innovative startups on the continent and has seen its Information and Communications Technology sector grow an average of 10.8% annually since 2016, becoming a significant source of economic development and job creation with spillover effects in almost every sector of the economy. According to the 2017 Africa Wealth Report, Kenyans are among the wealthiest people on the continent. 

Continuing this trend, the Kenya government is aiming to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030. 

But how exactly has the country achieved this?

While Africa's lack of formal infrastructure has catalyzed the country's technological explosion, private and public sector collaboration has been vitally important for nurturing tech adoption and innovation. 

Instrumental in this was Professor Bitange Ndemo.

Formerly the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication, serving from 2005 to 2013 under President Mwai Kibaki, he currently serves as Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi's Business School.

As advocated by Professor Ndemo, the key to unlocking this growth was an investment into internet infrastructure and an embrace of new technology across the private and public sector. 

As we explore in our discussion in today's episode, in addition to Kenya's tech sector growth, the country and the wider African economy would also benefit from embracing new technology to cultivate an enabling environment beyond the advancements to date. Blockchain, for instance, could facilitate more efficient and effective property ownership rights, and AI could be used to synthesize the massive amounts of fragmented data produced across the continent and applied across the board for the benefit of all economic actors. 

Nonetheless, if we want to see more countries replicate the Kenyan model, there needs to be a collaborative, international effort to enhance anti-trust legislation and protect innovation in developing countries. There needs to be a level playing field instead of a global landscape dominated by the US and China.

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