An ambitious new chapter in East Africa’s quest to assert digital sovereignty, advance critical infrastructure, and chart its own AI destiny is officially underway as AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA, East Africa’s largest tech and AI event, debuted today (19 May) in Nairobi.
Organised by inD, the global organiser of GITEX events, in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy on Technology of the Republic of Kenya, AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA takes place from 19–21 May 2026. From the Sarit Expo Centre, the INCLUSIVE AI EVERYTHING SUMMIT kicked off the three-day inaugural edition – a regional-first, strategic gathering where government leaders joined global institutions and industry pioneers to construct a new AI blueprint that reflects Africa’s diversity, ingenuity, and economic aspirations.
In his opening remarks, H.E Ambassador Philip Thigo, Special Envoy for Technology, Office of the President, Government of Kenya, said: “Africa’s role in AI must be articulated as an investment agenda. AI is not about ICT; AI is literally AI everything. The continent still lags behind in AI infrastructure, connectivity, and energy, but we possess everything around artificial intelligence – whether it is green minerals, data, talent, emerging compute infrastructure, modern innovations, or the opportunities around investment and creating new industries.
“The Silicon Savanna has come of age. This next chapter is no longer just about the mobile revolution that began in 2006 and 2007, but about the potential to sustain that momentum through globally competitive AI infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, investment, and new industries. Africa is open for business, open for investment, and ready to shape the future of artificial intelligence.”
Building an AI economy that is accessible, inclusive and relevant to African realities
With 400+ C-suite delegates and tech executives in attendance alongside global investors and pan-African government officials, the INCLUSIVE AI EVERYTHING SUMMIT examined conditions needed for East Africa to transform tech-critical sectors through AI integration and deployment.
From agriculture, banking and financial services, climate resilience, cybersecurity and data centre infrastructure to ecommerce, education, energy, healthcare, and trade, the message from expert speakers was unanimous: AI innovation must – and will – be accessible, inclusive, and relevant to African realities.
Dr. Nkundwe Mwasaga, Director General of the Tanzania ICT Commission, stated: “The INCLUSIVE AI EVERYTHING SUMMIT is a platform to dialogue, showcase and engage with the world – and the outcomes of interactions here will translate the transformative potential of AI into gains in East African businesses, industries, and economies.
“However, our region must work together with international partners to strengthen the five pillars of the AI-driven digital transformation: digital skills, security and trust, telecommunication services, the economy, and research, innovation and entrepreneurship. The transformation of businesses, industries, and economies will lead to digital sovereignty in our region.”
Regional and global leaders call for sovereign, trusted and interoperable AI systems
Among the 15 panel discussions at a full-capacity venue was ‘Digital Sovereignty for the AI Age: Control Without Isolation,’ where panellists examined how East Africa can assert greater control over its AI future without disconnecting from global innovation ecosystems. As AI reshapes economies, public services, and digital trade, speakers stressed that sovereignty now extends beyond data localisation to encompass ownership of compute infrastructure, access to strategic datasets, interoperable regulatory frameworks, and the ability to develop AI systems aligned with national priorities.
Highlighting Kenya’s expanding cloud, compute, and renewable energy advantages, Snehar Shah, CEO, iXAfrica Data Centres, said: “Kenya is very well positioned. We have pragmatic regulation, we have data protection frameworks, we have renewable power, and we are now bringing hyperscale cloud infrastructure into the country. We have really set the platforms, the fundamentals, and the foundations to make AI available locally for enterprises and consumers to use.”
Senthil Kumar, Personal Systems Technology and AI Specialist, HP Middle East, added: “When we talk about digital sovereignty in the age of AI, it is no longer just about where the data sits. It is really about who controls the data, who controls the AI, and where the compute happens. From an HP perspective, organisations should not have to choose between control and innovation, which is why we are bringing data to the edge.”
Growing national AI strategy and readiness frameworks
The ‘National AI Strategy and Readiness, Powered by ITU (International Telecommunication Union)’, session highlighted the growing importance of coordinated frameworks, standards, and institutional readiness as African nations accelerate AI adoption. Discussions focused on strengthening national capacity through AI research, experimentation, skills development, and self-assessment toolkits, while leveraging platforms such as the ITU AI for Good Sandbox to support strategy development and implementation.
Dr. Lourinho Chamane, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (INTIC) in Mozambique, revealed: “Building capacity on AI development and entrepreneurship is important for countries not to be only consumers of AI products and services, but also producers and contributors to the digital economy. We also believe it is important to develop small language models that support AI for local languages as part of digital inclusion.”
Commercial AI deployment: East Africa’s next frontier
AI commercialisation was another priority discussion topic in Nairobi. While Africa’s AI market is projected to reach US$16.5 billion by 2030, realising this growth trajectory will depend on how rapidly East Africa can transition AI from pilot programmes and fragmented innovation into commercially scalable infrastructure, enterprise deployment, and revenue-generating real-world applications. This imperative was analysed during a session titled ‘Commercialising Local AI: From Pilots to Products’.
With global platforms racing into frontier markets, speakers discussed the requirements for African-built AI to become export-ready – including Winnie Mangeni, Founder and CEO of PAWA AI, an Africa-built, Mozilla and NVIDIA-backed platform unlocking AI access for more than 200 million Swahili and other African language speakers.
Mangeni said: “East Africa is not waiting to be a consumer of AI; it is actively building the infrastructure, talent, and policy frameworks to lead. Our work at PAWA AI in building African-focused AI solutions has shown me just how much untapped potential exists here, and what excites me most is the opportunity to move beyond theory into practical collaboration: connecting investors, builders, and decision-makers around AI applications that solve real problems at African scale. For anyone serious about where the next wave of AI innovation is coming from, this is the room to be in.”
GITEX brings East Africa into the global AI economy
AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA marks the latest step in the international expansion of GITEX, the world’s largest tech, AI, and startup event network, which now stages shows in 14 cities across six continents.
Celebrating the launch, Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of the global organiser of GITEX, highlighted East Africa’s immense potential to become an epicentre of AI innovation and globally competitive infrastructure: “AI is no longer a technology shift; we are talking about a new geopolitical and economic restructuring. East Africa has already shown the world how it can leapfrog industries through digital innovation, and now has the opportunity to become a globally competitive AI and infrastructure powerhouse by building sovereign capabilities across cloud, compute, talent, investment, and research.
“Collaboration is the new currency in the global AI race – and GITEX exists to ensure emerging markets are fully integrated into this transformation and have equal access to the world’s innovation economy.”
AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA continues on Wednesday as global ecosystem enablers and regional infrastructure powerhouses converge at the AI EVERYTHING KENYA EXPO, East Africa’s largest cross-sector AI showcase, taking place from 20–21 May at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
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