Last week, on the 16th July 2025, I had the privilege of delivering the keynote address at the launch of This Is Digital, a new and vital initiative dedicated to empowering Kenya and Africa with AI knowledge and skills. As someone who has had a front-row seat to Kenya’s digital transformation for nearly three decades this was an exciting opportunity to unpack all that I have seen and learned to-date in terms of the past, present, and future. 

My presentation was a journey back in time, starting in the late 90s — an era of 14.4k analogue modems, when KP&TC declared the internet “illegal,” and our biggest challenge was convincing businesses they even needed a website. From those early days at places like Africa Online and 3mice Interactive Media to founding Dotsavvy in 2002, I’ve witnessed every wave of change.

We revisited the foundational layers that made today possible:

• The mobile and M-PESA miracle that leapfrogged traditional banking and gave millions of Kenyans financial freedom.
• The unseen revolution of the undersea high speed cables like TEAMS and SEACOM that slashed connectivity costs and truly allowed the ‘Silicon Savannah’ to blossom.
• The explosion of homegrown innovations like Ushahidi and the iHub, proving that the most powerful solutions are often born from local necessity.

This historical context is essential because, as we enter the AI era, the patterns feel familiar. The promise is immense. We are already seeing incredible, locally relevant AI applications that are helping farmers diagnose crop diseases, enabling doctors to conduct mass TB screenings in rural areas, and extending financial inclusion through smarter credit scoring. This is “AI for Kenya, by Kenyans,” and it is incredibly exciting.

But this is where the “reality check” comes in.

We must also confront the hidden engine of the global AI boom: a low-cost, often invisible digital workforce right here in Nairobi, doing the essential but grueling work of data labeling and content moderation for wages that don’t reflect the value they create. We have to ask ourselves: Are we positioning ourselves to be innovators and owners in this new era, or are we risking becoming a low-cost service provider in a value chain where the profits are captured elsewhere?

Furthermore, our increasing reliance on AI models built and trained in the Global North raises critical questions of sovereignty. Do these models understand our languages and cultures? Do their algorithms perpetuate existing biases? Who controls our data?

These are not easy questions, but they are necessary. Kenya’s recently launched National AI Strategy is a commendable and crucial first step. It signals our intent to build, innovate, and govern on our own terms.

My closing message was a call to action built on three pillars:

1. Human Capital: We must elevate our workforce from AI service providers to AI creators.
2. Smart Governance: We must move from strategy on paper to rigorous implementation in practice.
3. Local Innovation: We must deliberately nurture our homegrown AI ecosystem to solve our own problems.

It was a pleasure to share these thoughts at the This Is Digital launch. The journey from dial-up analogue Internet to deep learning has been extraordinary, but the next chapter is the one we must write most intentionally.

You can view or download my full keynote presentation below:

https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/the-past-present-future-of-kenya-s-digital-transformation-a-presentation-by-dotsavvy-s-moses-kemibaro-at-the-this-is-digital-launch-event-in-nairobi-kenya-on-the-16th-july-2025/281787634