Day 2 of KIICO 2026: Elevating Kenya as Africa’s Digital and BPO Hub
Day 2 of the ongoing Kenya International Investment Conference 2026 (#KIICO2026) featured a high-impact BPO & TECH side event in Nairobi, themed “Elevating Kenya as Africa’s Digital and BPO Hub.”
The session convened government leaders, industry captains, and international partners to chart strategic pathways for scaling Kenya’s digital economy. It spotlighted opportunities to position Kenya as a competitive hub for technology-enabled services, while catalyzing investments and partnerships to drive digital innovation and outsourced service delivery.
Delivering the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, H.E. Hon. William Kabogo's keynote address, Mary Kerema, Secretary for ICT, E-Government, and Digital Economy, stated:
“Kenya has established the key foundations required for a competitive digital economy: robust infrastructure, a capable workforce, and a supportive policy framework. The focus now is on scaling these into tangible outcomes—jobs, investments, and increased participation in global markets.”
Secretary Mary Kerema also represented Principal Secretary for ICT and Digital Economy, Eng. John Tanui. In his pitch titled “Why Kenya? Why Tech?,” he highlighted Kenya’s unique value proposition and a range of investable opportunities in the tech sector.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Kenya is one of Africa’s fastest- growing BPO hubs with ~40K workers and growing at ~20% p.a.2Mn+ young tech-savvy and trainable workforceStrategic time zone and easy access to international markets with robust connectivityGeneral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aligned data laws, pursuing the first EU Data Adequacy status in AfricaH.E. Henriette Geiger, Ambassador of the European Union to Kenya, shared the European perspective on opportunities in Kenya’s BPO and IT outsourcing sector. She noted that Kenya offers a complementary value proposition to Eastern Europe, with its competitive cost base, growing ICT workforce, and ability to scale talent over time.
A key highlight of the session was a high-level panel discussion titled “Positioning Kenya as Africa’s Premier GBS & BPO Hub: Digitization, Talent, Technology, Infrastructure, Policy and Global Partnerships.”
The discussions underscored the need to strengthen collaboration between academic institutions, government, and industry to bridge the gap from enrollment to employment. Emphasis was placed on agility and industry input as a regulatory and policy framework is being drafted. Additionally, participants called for concerted efforts to mobilize stakeholders and market Kenya abroad as a premier investment destination.