Ai Kenya Industry Breakfast 3.0 convenes industry leaders to drive AI adoption in Africa

“Each employee should use AI agents as colleagues and the software as team members.That’s happening for us at the hospital and it actually really does work. We had an AI Masterclass with Ai Kenya last year in November that was an eye opener for our team.” — Joseph Kabiru, Manager Supply Chain Operations, Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi

On January 29, 2026, the MövenPick Hotel Nairobi became the epicenter of Kenya’s AI transformation as industry leaders, policymakers, innovators, and technology partners gathered for the Ai Kenya industry breakfast 3.0.

The event explored a defining question for modern organizations: How can AI-powered operational efficiency transform the way teams and systems function across Africa?

Held in collaboration with Samsung, Sama, BrighterMonday, FMC Advocates, Horizon Offices, Technology Today, JuaFlow, Tuwele, Arvisia Global, Jitamani Africa, Techtrends Media, Techish  and Quanta360, the Industry breakfast served as a marketplace connecting African AI solution providers with organizations seeking to accelerate their digital transformation. The event reinforced Kenya’s growing position as a regional hub for responsible AI adoption while demonstrating that AI-driven operational efficiency is reshaping how African businesses compete and innovate.

From tools to teammates

James Ayugi, CEO of Webmasters Kenya and Founder of eCitizen, delivered the opening keynote for the session, highlighting how AI is transforming the nature of work by enhancing roles rather than eliminating them. Drawing from examples from Webmaster’s experience in building and scaling eCitizen to a platform with over 20,000 services, he encouraged businesses to adopt AI intentionally, ensuring human judgment remains central to final decision-making.

Alfred Ongere, founder and CEO of Ai Kenya, opened with a provocative question: How much of your workforce consists of AI agents? Drawing on McKinsey’s announcement that 20,000 of their 60,000 employees are now AI agents, Alfred emphasized a fundamental paradigm shift: treating software as a default teammate, not just a tool. This shift addresses a critical challenge. Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute reports that AI adoption in the global south lags roughly at half in comparison to the global north. Ai Kenya’s effort to address this  (the Augmented Thinking AI Masterclass) has trained over 120 professionals across six cohorts since May 2025, helping organizations move beyond subscriptions to genuine capability. The industry breakfast furthers this mission by creating spaces where knowledge, partnerships, and practical solutions converge to drive regional AI adoption.

Real impact across sectors

Joseph Kabiru’s testimony exemplified AI’s transformative potential. Managing supply chain operations for Aga Khan University Hospital across East Africa with a 90-person Nairobi team, Kabiru described how Microsoft Copilot now actively supports SOPs review, workflow analysis, and massive dataset processing. “We’re seeing more productivity at work. We’re even seeing better turnaround times,” he shared, with his team expanding to tools like Gemini, achieving measurable improvements in healthcare delivery.

Bernard Momanyi, Co-founder of Sanifu AI, highlighted startup opportunities to automate fragmented workflows such as verifying records, reconciling payments, and confirming processes, while maintaining human oversight for exceptions. His observation that “Kenyans are very savvy in terms of AI” challenged assumptions about emerging market readiness, demonstrating Africa’s active engagement with cutting-edge AI applications.

Strategic collaboration and implementation

Event collaborators showcased diverse AI applications. Ryan Mule, Product Manager for Mobile Experience at Samsung East Africa, discussed transitioning to the AI phone era, where Galaxy AI, Gemini, and Bixby create proactive experiences enhancing productivity beyond photo editing.

Michelle Okelo from BrighterMonday emphasized measurable impact over novelty: “We focus on outcomes, not just features,” she explained, with their AI powered career tools increasing interview opportunities by up to three times.

Annepeace Alwala, VP of Global Service Delivery at Sama, addressed structured adoption, emphasizing clear business problem definition, data readiness, regulatory compliance, and ethical governance. “Don’t remove people in the loop,” she cautioned. “There are things human beings can do better.” Diana Wariara from FMC Advocates provided legal perspective on data protection and cybersecurity, while Noel Carvalho from Technology Today emphasized bridging strategy and implementation through partnerships. Fredrick Ochieng from Konza Technopolis, highlighted government commitment to AI innovation, discussing how public institutions integrate AI into design and development processes. Ian Kabiru from Horizon Offices explored workspace environments fostering innovation through flexible, technology-enabled collaboration spaces.

Navigating challenges: Trust, scale, and the human element

A panel discussion with Bernard Momanyi from Sanifu AI , Somet Kipchilat from Quanta 360 , and moderated by Mbugua Njihia explored AI adoption realities. Key themes included building trust in AI systems through transparency, strengthening data protection given Africa’s regulatory landscape, managing investment costs while evaluating ROI, scaling AI for SMEs through innovative models, and ecosystem collaboration. “AI helps you make decisions faster, but the final decision still lies with you,” panelists noted, emphasizing balanced human-AI collaboration.

Key takeaways

Organizations seeking operational efficiency through AI should:

• Foster experimentation: “Always be open to test anything new.”
• Embrace partnerships over isolation: collaboration accelerates results.
• Focus on business problems first, selecting appropriate AI solutions second.
• Keep humans central to critical processes.
• Measure tangible outcomes such as productivity, time savings, error reduction.
• Invest in team capability development.
• Establish governance frameworks balancing innovation with accountability.

Building confidence in African solutions

When Alfred asked attendees about using African-built enterprise solutions, sparse responses highlighted a critical challenge. “We need to build confidence in local enterprise solutions,” he emphasized. The industry breakfast addresses this by creating marketplaces where African AI solutions demonstrate capabilities to potential customers, fostering ecosystem development for sustained growth. Africa’s opportunity lies in developing solutions reflecting local contexts, operational realities, and economic priorities thus addressing real challenges while strengthening infrastructure and trust.

Looking forward

Ai Kenya industry breakfast 3.0 demonstrated growing momentum behind Kenya’s AI ecosystem and its potential to influence broader African digital transformation. With monthly Augmented Thinking AI Masterclass cohorts planned through November 2026, Ai Kenya continues accelerating adoption and bridging the global diffusion gap.

The event underscored a fundamental truth: AI-powered operational efficiency is present reality, not distant future. Organizations embracing this reality, investing in capabilities, and participating in ecosystem development will define competitive advantage ahead.

Acknowledgments

Ai Kenya extends deep gratitude to our sponsors and collaborators: Samsung, Sama, Technology Today, BrighterMonday, FMC Advocates, JuaFlow, Tuwele, Arvisia Global, Jitamani Africa, Horizons Offices , Techtrends, Techish,  Technology today and Quanta360, whose support made this event possible and continues driving AI adoption across the region. Together, we’re building a sustainable, inclusive, and globally competitive African AI ecosystem.

Mark your calendars: Ai Kenya Industry Breakfast 4.0 is scheduled for July 2026. Join us as we continue this important conversation.

For more information about Ai Kenya’s Augmented Thinking AI Masterclass, visit https://kenya.ai/learning/augmented-thinking/ and join our community on different channels on : https://linktr.ee/AiKenya 

Article by Wairimu Maringa