AI Everything Kenya x GITEX Kenya to Examine East Africa’s Role in the Global AI Economy

The three-day event begins with a high-level Summit at the Sarit Expo Centre on 19 May, before moving to a full-scale Expo and Conference at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) from 20–21 May. The central objective is moving African economies beyond the consumption of imported technologies toward controlling the infrastructure, datasets, and talent shaping the region's digital future. Industry leaders and global innovators will drive discussions across three main operational fronts: Technology Orchestration and Talent: Global technology orchestrator Redington ($11.8 billion) highlighted that East Africa has a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional development by applying AI to healthcare, agriculture, financial inclusion, and public services. The firm emphasized that with proper infrastructure and policy support, the region’s youth can transition from consumers to builders of AI. Fintech Innovation and Commerce: Mastercard will showcase its full suite of digital products, including AI and agentic commerce concepts. The company's focus centers on building secure, interoperable financial infrastructure, leveraging AI for real-time fraud detection, and creating credit-scoring tools to bring underserved consumers and small businesses into the formal financial ecosystem. Smart Infrastructure and Connected Cities: ZKTeco East Africa will unveil smart security gates, biometric access control, AI-powered surveillance, and intelligent vehicle inspection technologies. This addresses a growing demand from regional organizations to replace standalone security systems with unified, intelligent platforms combining identity, workforce management, and operations. The event will also anchor defining regulatory dialogues on the global stage. The opening-day Summit features a plenary titled "Global Voice: Africa’s Seat at the AI Governance Table," featuring Mactar Seck (UNECA) and Prof. Dr. Bitange Ndemo (Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium), to examine how African governments can influence international rules on data governance and AI safety. A secondary high-level panel, "Digital Sovereignty for the AI Age: Control Without Isolation," will feature Snehar Shah (CEO, iXAfrica Datacenters), Frank Moreno Garcia (Chief AI Strategy Officer, European Artificial Intelligence Office), and Dennis Volemi (Group CTO, KCB Bank Group) debating the sequence of infrastructure development, regulatory frameworks, and data ownership in Kenya's sovereignty strategy. Why this matters For the national economy, this convening represents the formal Institutionalization of Digital Ownership. By moving the conversation from technological adoption to structural control of compute infrastructure and datasets, the event provides the policy-to-investment pipeline required to protect local digital sovereignty. For the strategist, it outlines the precise framework needed to turn regional talent and localized data into a sustainable, competitive edge within a rising East African market of over 300 million people. Opportunity sector * Sovereign Cloud & Data Centers: High demand for localized compute infrastructure and cloud solutions to support data sovereignty strategies. AI-Driven Fintech & Security: Significant openings for interoperable payment systems, real-time fraud detection, and alternative credit-scoring models. Smart City & Biometric Infrastructure: Opportunities for contractors and providers to deploy connected platforms for urban safety, workforce management, and surveillance. Regulatory & Governance Consulting: A growing market for specialists to assist organizations and states in aligning with emerging Pan-African AI safety and data privacy frameworks. Technical Upskilling & Education: Increased need for specialized programs to train the region's youth to build and maintain localized machine learning models. Registration Information More information and registration details are available at aieverythingkenya.com. Moto Seen Africa — Africa’s View, Seen Clearly. #AIEverythingKenya #GITEXKenya #DigitalSovereignty #SiliconSavannah #SmartInfrastructure #FintechAfrica #MotoSeenAfrica