Kenya has signed a five-year partnership with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution to strengthen the country’s capabilities in artificial intelligence, data governance, digital transformation and innovation.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in New York on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly by Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, and Dr. Jendayi Frazer, Co-Director of the Emerging Markets Working Group at the Hoover Institution.
The partnership will focus on digital transformation, AI, data governance, policy research, innovation and institutional capacity development. The collaboration is intended to strengthen the use of data and research in government policy and economic decision-making.
One of the immediate initiatives will be an El Niño Impact Monitoring and Response System, which will integrate climate, geospatial, water, agriculture and infrastructure data to generate county-level intelligence and support faster coordination during climate-related events.
The partnership will also support the development of a Digital Trade Readiness Index, a PPP Governance Tracker and a Sectoral Resilience Scorecard. The tools are expected to provide data-driven insights to support digital trade, public-private partnership governance, investment and risk management.
ICT Authority CEO Jessy Kiveu Maruti joined the Kenyan delegation alongside Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy, Eng. John Tanui, and other government officials and partners.
The agreement forms part of Kenya’s wider efforts to strengthen its digital economy by building institutional capacity in AI, data and innovation, while translating research and data into actionable policy.
