John Tanui, principal secretary at Kenya's Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy.

The Africa Centre of Competence for Digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Skilling has been established in Kenya to act as an incubator for public sector innovation aimed at enhancing service delivery.

It is hosted in the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi, Kenya, and is a collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Kenyan government, and Microsoft.

“This will accelerate the continent’s transformation agenda enabled by digitalisation and adoption of emerging technologies like AI,” said John Tanui, Kenya’s principal secretary: state department for ICT and digital economy.

According to David Ombee, project communications officer at UNDP Kenya, the centre would serve as a hub for promoting innovation and improving civil servants' digital and AI competences, capacities, and mindsets across Kenya and Africa.

“The goal is to equip public sector employees with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in a digital environment, drive innovation, and enhance public service delivery to propel Africa's digital transformation agenda,” he said.

The AI centre is in line with the Kenya’s National Digital Master Plan 2022-2032, which aims to improve digital literacy among 300,000 public sector workers.

One of the centre's most notable elements is the proposed Public Sector Innovation Fund, which will provide micro-grants to encourage public officials to apply their newly acquired digital abilities to solve real-world problems.

This fund is expected to encourage civil servants to build and implement innovative digital solutions that address the unique issues of their sector.