A recent annual global report by Bosch, using representative data from across the world brought out two findings that struck me – first, that four out of five people around the world plan to educate themselves about Artificial Intelligence (AI), and secondly, two thirds of the respondents believe that AI should be standalone subject in schools.
For a while, people believed that AI is a complex subject for computer scientists and geeks. It still sounds to many as a science fiction. It’s not a distant futuristic concept - it is a present-day force shaping economies, industries, governance and everyday life. Be it in healthcare diagnostics or agricultural innovation. Financial systems and education technologies are being transformed every day.
Within the context of my responsibility of leading Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) and by implication the national innovation agenda, I am convinced that we do need a number of bold resolutions and actions in order to reap the desired benefits. For a while I argued that Intellectual Property (IP) concepts should be taught at least to all students in higher education institutions. The Kenya Vision 2030 aims to foster a knowledge-driven economy by promoting the creation, adaptation, and use of knowledge for rapid economic growth, wealth creation, and international competitiveness. This vision cannot be disconnected from a bold desire to integrate IP in the education system.
I am now persuaded that AI must be taught as a standalone subject in schools. Kenya has already proven itself a pioneer in a number of ways. Mobile money put us on the global map. Now, the next frontier is AI. The world is moving fast, and if we wants to stay ahead, we must prepare our young people with the skills and knowledge they need. There are many facets of AI that need to be embraced widely, including but not limited to technical aspects like Robotics and autonomous systems, Programming, Machine learning, Neural networks, Natural language processing Computer vision, Chatbots, Generative AI; Governance issues such as Ethics, Data privacy, National and international Policies, and Regulation as well as Applications in areas like finance, agriculture, health, education, transport, and creative industries. A standalone course ensures students appreciate AI’s full scope instead of just treating it as another coding module.
In 2024, I led an effort that developed a foundational 10-year innovation masterplan for the country. Launched by His Excellence the President on 27th November, 2024, the masterplan identifies capacity development for Innovation as the single most important input that we must focus on over the next several years. AI skills is part of the capacity development that must be scaled up.
The Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is designed to promote problem-solving and creativity. AI fits right into that vision. Imagine students learning not just coding, but how to apply AI to track climate change, improve food security, or develop apps that support health workers.
Preparing the Workforce
The digital economy is one of Kenya’s fastest-growing sectors. Jobs in AI and data science are increasing globally, and there lies the opportunity. Introducing AI at secondary level, and deepening it in TVETs, would ensure a steady pipeline of skilled innovators for the job market.
Kenyan universities are already laying the foundation. The University of Nairobi and JKUAT are running data science and AI programs. Strathmore University trains students to build AI-powered legal chatbots. The more learners we prepare early, the better we are prepared to feed into the research and innovation ecosystem that can compete globally.
There are success stories of Kenyan youth already showing what is possible with AI:
- In Eldoret, students built AgriBot, an AI tool that detects crop diseases before they spread.
- At Strathmore University, law students created AI chatbots that answer legal questions, helping Kenyans understand their rights.
- In health, Myrekod lets users securely store and manage medical records digitally. They also integrate AI to help analyze health data and connect users with hospitals, insurance, pharmacies
- Safaricom launched FarmerAI, a chatbot powered by AI, giving smallholder farmers real-time agricultural advisories — on weather, pests, fertilizer, planting guidance, etc.
- Vitali Health uses AI tools to help people manage hypertension. It offers telemedicine, lifestyle monitoring, digital tools to store medical data, and personalized advice.
These are are among many homegrown solutions, demonstrating that youth can lead the AI revolution.
China aims to train over 500,000 AI experts by 2030. India targets over 1 million AI professionals in the next few years. EU (collectively) plans over 20,000 new AI PhDs by 2030. To be globally competitive and a regional AI hub Kenya should aim for about 300 PhDs in AI or related fields annually as well as 2,000 Master’s level in addition to about 10,000 Professional AI certifications in form of short courses and bootcamps annually.
Finally, as part of building the pipeline, there should be earlier stage exposure where AI basics are integrated into CBC, High School and TVETs, reaching tens of thousands yearly.
This is all because Kenya needs sufficient AI talent not just for academia purposes, but for startups, government, and industry adoption as well as export purposes.
