PS lauds Safaricom for advancing AI to boost job creation, spur digitisation

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Principal Secretary (PS) in the State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications, Stephen Isaboke, has lauded Safaricom for advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create jobs locally and close the current digital divide.

The PS  said the telco, which late last year celebrated 25 years with targets to be a technology company by 2030, can help Kenya to industrialise, considering its huge contribution to the economy.

“And like it’s been said by the colleagues ahead, you’ve always been purpose-driven and innovative, and that’s how M-Pesa and all these innovations came in. And today, we’re witnessing Decode 4.0,” said Isaboke during the opening ceremony of the three-day fourth edition of Safaricom’s engineering summit dubbed Decode 4.0 in Nairobi.

“And obviously, you understand a symbol of how far our digital journey has come, because the history of Kenya’s digitisation cannot be said without Safaricom being part of that foundation.”

Convened by Safaricom in partnership with Microsoft, Google, Dell Technologies, and Huawei, the summit will bring together developers, innovators, and global tech leaders to shape the country’s next phase of digital growth.

Held under the theme, Made for Kenya, this year’s summit celebrates the ingenuity, creativity, and resilience that have positioned Kenya as a leader in technology and digital innovations, from mobile-first platforms to inclusive digital ecosystems, while bringing together the architects of this ecosystem to explore, learn, and collaborate.

More than 100,000 are expected to be engaged physically and virtually, reflecting the expanding influence of Kenya’s technology ecosystem and the growing demand for practical, inclusive digital.

The PS said the summit shows that Kenya is no longer just a pioneer in mobile innovation or tech but is now a builder of intelligent, globally relevant digital systems.

He observed that the government firmly believes that AI must be democratised. “It’s not a preserve of a few, not an elitist thing, but everywhere. It’s dynamic, agnostic, accessible both in the rural and urban centres, and in whichever language or form you actually will access it. It must be accessible, inclusive, and must actually be beneficial to all our citizens,” he said.

The PS said the government is committed to building an ecosystem where AI drives economic growth, creates jobs, and enables public service delivery.

“And with a deliberate policy, we are extending the cable. Safaricom has also been part of the ecosystem to ensure that we’ve got more than 100,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable going across the country to do away with the digital divide,” said Isaboke.

 “We’re setting up digital hubs across all the wards in the country so that rural kids, who may not be as privileged, get digital access and indeed get all this digital knowledge and become the digital economy.”

The PS  said the country must strengthen its foundations with robust data, including governance. Already, Kenya has the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner that has laws that copy from best practices from the world, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and so Kenyans’ data is protected.

Decode 4.0 reinforces Safaricom’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of innovators through hands-on learning and capacity building.

Builder labs, code labs, and mentorship programmes form a core part of the summit, enabling participants to engage with practical tools and platforms to build, experiment, and scale solutions that address real-world challenges.

Safaricom’s Group Chief Finance Officer Dilip Pal said Kenya’s industrialisation leap will not be driven by coal or steel but data, algorithms, and intelligence embedded in every process and network.

“AI will be the invisible operating layer behind connectivity, platforms, industries, and national digital systems,” said Pal.

“There is therefore a need to build the right data architecture, preparing our people, giving them skills, confidence, a mindset to work alongside AI, putting in place governance frameworks, clear rules for fairness, consistency, transparency, accountability, and human oversight.”

Nairobi County Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu is coming up with the Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026, which, among other things, if made law, will see misuse of it by individuals and entities to generate harmful content fined Sh5 million.

Beyond the summit, Safaricom’s Group Chief Technology Officer, James Maita, said it will extend the impact of Decode through year-round initiatives, including regional engagements dubbed Decode Cafés across the country, code labs, masterclasses, and mentorship programmes for both developers and educators that bring technology learning closer to communities nationwide.

“Decode is not just a platform but a launchpad of Kenya’s next generation of builders, creators, and innovators,” he said.