The partnership between Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and Microsoft tech firm that has led to the launch of the Kenya Artificial Intelligence Skilling Alliance (KAISA) is expected to meet high expectations of not only the local and foreign investors, but also that of people who use AI to work, learn and do business.
Among the things that the KAISA platform will do is to coordinate AI skills development, innovation, and policy collaboration across key sectors of the economy.
AI reveals more than innovation as it will contribute over $3.6 trillion to the global economy by 2034, with KEPSA revealing that Africa has prospects of minting up to $1.5 trillion by 2030 if adoption accelerates.
Experts say AI-driven economy is sobering, with a country like Kenya already being recognized as one of the top five “AI-ready nations” in Africa. However, despite the growing momentum, AI ecosystem is still patchy. It is on the back of this that KAISA is expected to bridge that gap by providing a coordinated national framework that connects skills, policy, and innovation.
According to Dr. Ehud Gachugu, Deputy CEO at KEPSA and Global Director for Youth and Jobs, an entity that would help with skills provision marks a defining moment in Kenya’s journey to build a future-ready workforce for the age of AI.
KAISA, Gachugu points out, is focused on inclusivity, job creation, and social transformation, Africa’s youthful population remains our greatest advantage.
“Through coordinated efforts, the Alliance will connect innovation with opportunity, enhance the quality of training, and scale successful models that empower communities to participate meaningfully in the global digital economy,” Gachugu says, noting that as AI continues to transform how people live, learn, and work, the KAISA platform will help coordinate, scale, and accelerate existing efforts across the public and private sectors.
For a tech firm like Microsoft and, a government agency like KEPSA, KAISA will expand collaboration scope to include curriculum development, innovation incubation, and research partnerships across sectors such as agriculture, health, education, finance, and manufacturing.
Phyllis Migwi, Country General Manager, Microsoft, Kenya, says technology alone cannot drive progress without people who are ready and equipped to use it. To her, Kenya’s ambition to become Africa’s AI talent hub will only be realized through deliberate investment in skills development, from basic digital literacy to advanced expertise.
Ms Migwi also challenges the narrative that Africans are merely high adopters of technology, urging a shift toward becoming active creators and innovators within the AI ecosystem. Through the Kenya AI Skilling Alliance, she says, Kenya has the opportunity to build a future-ready workforce capable of leveraging AI to create jobs, drive innovation, and shape policies that define the country’s digital future.
“We can put all the technology we want into a nation, but if we don’t have the people ready to take advantage of it, it doesn’t work. Skills, not just innovation, will determine how far Kenya goes in the AI era,” she says.
Her thoughts are shared by Ambassador Phillip Thigo, Special Envoy on Technology, Government of Kenya who truly believes that technology must serve humanity, not the other way around.
“We must make deliberate choices to ensure that AI works for good, that it helps us fight climate change, not fuel it. The true test of innovation is whether our technologies can sustain the planet and empower people at the same time. To achieve this, we must build our own knowledge and science in AI; otherwise, we risk remaining users rather than creators in the next chapter of human progress,” Thigo says, pointing out that the new frontier lies in how societies adapt and apply it to local realities.
He adds: “We can’t train for everything; technology is evolving every day but what matters is the capability and confidence we build in people to take ownership of their learning and adapt as the world changes. That’s the real goal.”
At the end of it all, the most important thing is ensuring that training is aligned with industry needs, promote ethical AI use, and expand access to opportunities for youth, women, and marginalized groups.
