Gavin Krugel & Naila Aroni | Kenya’s digital transformation crossroads

Kenya stands at a pivotal moment, having achieved world-leading status in digital payments and citizen services. However, the next decade of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) must transcend technical triumphs to embrace robust governance, foster trust, and secure sustainable financing. Only then can Kenya truly deliver inclusive public value and solidify its position as Africa's DPI exemplar.

DPI, encompassing digital ID, payments, and data exchange, offers transformative potential. While many African nations possess existing digital systems that align with the three foundational DPI pillars, the true value of DPI lies in connecting these systems through interoperability, shared standards, and strong governance. 

This revolutionises government-citizen interactions, reducing costs and enabling high-quality services at scale, as demonstrated by Brazil's DPI, which has saved its government over a billion USD. DPI can help countries achieve their national priorities and accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Globally, best practices highlight the importance of holistic approaches. South Africa's experience underscores that technology is secondary to whole-of-government change management and coordination. India's success with the interoperable, open-source India Stack, anchored in strong public-private partnerships, offers another compelling model. Estonia's X-Road data exchange and national e-ID, underpinned by clear governance, citizen consent, and transparency, further illustrate the critical role of these foundational elements.

The power of digital payments

Kenya's burgeoning DPI journey has been marked by significant successes, integrating technology into key public services and improving access to essential services. M-PESA is a prime example of how existing systems can be integrated into DPI to save costs, acting as a catalyst for financial inclusion and a cornerstone of Africa's strongest DPI pillar: digital payments.  

While M-PESA is private sector owned, it’s trusted and deemed universal to Kenyan citizens. The e-Citizen platform, with its vast catalogue of 2000+ e-services, has dramatically improved service, replacing long queues and bureaucratic processes. Furthermore, strategic investments in infrastructure backbone projects like the National Fibre Optic Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI)  has expanded connectivity, connecting 290 sub-county offices, educational centres, hospitals, police stations, and other key county government offices.  

Despite these achievements, Kenya faces critical risks and governance gaps. The rollouts of digital ID initiatives like Huduma Namba and Maisha Namba have exposed weaknesses, including ongoing challenges with transparency, public participation, and data protection. 

Trust is critical

A trust deficit looms due to weak safeguards, risking exclusion, surveillance, and inefficient investment. Fragmentation, characterised by siloed systems and overlapping mandates, further limits interoperability and citizen value. Many Kenyans question the value of the Maisha Namba, given the country's high existing ID coverage (91 percent) and the effective remote identity verification already provided by the Integrated Population Registration System (IPRS). 

Concerns about data protection, public participation, and transparency persist, with a high level of opacity surrounding the new system. The use of outdated analog registration processes for Maisha Namba also fails to address core challenges citizens face in obtaining an ID. The report from the Centre for Financial Inclusion concludes that Kenya's DPI journey, due to weak state commitments and a weakened accountability environment, currently sits in a "high-risk DPI" zone with a high likelihood of exclusion, misuse (e.g., surveillance), and ineffective investment (waste of resources).

What next?

To navigate these challenges, Kenya must adopt strategic policy recommendations. Firstly, financing must be phased strategically, leveraging donor and philanthropic funding for early-stage research and development, ensuring public funding supports foundational, neutral infrastructure, and adopting blended and public-private partnership models for scaling innovation and sustainability. Secondly, strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks is crucial, including finalising and operationalising the National Data Governance Policy to safeguard privacy, transparency, and accountability, and harmonizing data protection, competition, and procurement laws. Thirdly, establishing clear institutional coordination by creating or empowering a central authority with the mandate and resources to lead DPI implementation across government is vital. Finally, a use-case driven implementation approach, starting with high-impact pilots like digital social grants, education, and civil registration, will build evidence, public trust, and political momentum.

The future

Kenya's commitment to developing a DPI roadmap, building on existing digital achievements and aiming to consolidate fragmented systems, is a promising step. This roadmap, grounded in the GovStack methodology and supported by global partners including GIZ, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the European Union, will address gaps in the digital ecosystem and prioritise equity and inclusivity. By drawing lessons from digital leaders like Estonia, Singapore, and India, and focusing on critical domains like digital data infrastructure, interoperability frameworks, digital identity and trust, access, and governance, Kenya has the potential to become a continental leader in DPI, driving digital inclusion and transformation across the region. 

The development of the DPI roadmap in Kenya plan follows the launch of a National AI strategy 2025-2030 which the government believes will play a central role in its digital economy development. However, this potential can only be fully realised by prioritising strong governance, building public trust, and ensuring sustainable and inclusive development in its digital future.