from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – KENYA has reached a milestone towards its Vision 2030 and the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy (2025–2030), following a hackathon hosted by the National Intelligence and Research University (NIRU).
On Monday, some 185 teams, selected from 2 474 submissions, participated at the event that encourages young innovators to remain focused on building scalable, ethical and nationally relevant artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
The finals are scheduled for March.
Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, Principal Secretary: State Department for Science, Research, and Innovation, said the government remained committed to strengthening the science, technology and innovation ecosystem through increased research and development (R&D) investment, education reforms under the competency-based curriculum, and strong partnerships with academia and industry.
“This hackathon is therefore timely, urgent, and highly relevant,” he said in Nairobi.
“Its outcomes are expected to contribute to robust AI governance, growth of local AI ecosystems, and accelerated adoption of AI across priority sectors including agriculture, security, education and healthcare.”
Lorna Ogolla, Google Research (Machine Learning/AI) Partnership lead for Africa, spoke about the pace of the digital revolution.
“Even within Google, new models emerge every single week,” she said.
“Staying curious is essential to thrive, adapt, and build a meaningful impact.”
NIRU is a specialised institution established as a component college of the National Defence University-Kenya (NDU-K).
It focuses on intelligence studies, national security and research for addressing complex threats, training officers from Kenya and other African nations as well as fostering AI-driven innovation for national prosperity.
– CAJ News