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DigiKen Steering Committee Reviews Milestones towards an Inclusive and Future Ready Digital Ecosystem in Kenya
The Steering Committee of the Joint UN SDG Programme convened a high-level meeting on 21 May 2025, co-chaired by Eng. John Tanui, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, and Dr. Stephen Jackson, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Kenya.
Launched in 2024 and funded by the UN Joint SDG fund, DigiKen is a multi-agency initiative promoting inclusive, rights-based digital transformation in Kenya. The programme is designed to strengthen local digital ecosystems while contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Assessing Progress Across DigiKen’s Three Strategic Pillars
The meeting served as a key opportunity to reflect on progress achieved across DigiKen’s three strategic result areas: Empowering MSMEs, Government Capacity Building, and Digital Literacy and Innovation.
Empowering MSMEs: The programme has committed to supporting 150 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with a focus on women- and youth-led businesses, to develop digital platform solutions that address local development challenges.
Government Capacity Building: The programme aims to train 20,000 government officials across national and county levels. The MOOC, being developed in partnership with Oxford University and hosted by the Kenya School of Government, will equip public institutions to responsibly integrate AI and digital technologies into governance promoting innovation, accountability, and the protection of digital rights, all grounded in ethics, inclusion, and service excellence.
Digital Literacy and Innovation: Through 15 strengthened Digital Innovation Hubs, the programme is enhancing digital skills and platform literacy to ensure that women, youth, and marginalized communities are prepared to thrive in an AI-enabled future.
Key milestones achieved
Since its launch, DigiKen has made significant progress towards delivering on its objectives. Notable milestones include:
15 Digital Innovation Hubs selected across 11 project counties to serve as local centres of inclusive digital transformation in Kenya.
Completion of a comprehensive needs assessment to guide and inform the development of training curriculum for Digital Innovation Hubs.
Completion of a market scoping of local financial institutions to evaluate their needs and priorities, and development of financial instruments to incentivize these institutions to finance local digital MSMEs and platforms.
Establishment of strategic partnerships with the Kenya School of Government (KSG) and Oxford University to co-develop and deliver MOOC on Digital Transformation for civil servants.
These milestones mark significant progress toward achieving Digiken’s vision to foster a thriving Kenyan digital platforms’ ecosystem that advances sustainable development and leaves no one behind.
Speaking during the Steering Committee meeting, Permanent Secretary Eng. John Tanui reaffirmed DigiKen’s alignment with Kenya’s digital transformation agenda stating that:
DigiKen embodies our collective vision for a dynamic digital economy that benefits every Kenyan. Through cross-sector collaboration, we are driving innovation, fostering inclusion, and strengthening national digital capacity
He further reaffirmed the Ministry’s continued support:
The Ministry stands fully committed to the success of DigiKen. We are ready to provide any necessary support to ensure smooth and effective implementation.
Dr. Stephen Jackson, UN Resident Coordinator, commended the programme’s scalable, inclusive approach:
This initiative places inclusion, ethics, and empowerment at the heart of digital transformation. As a regular user of homegrown Kenyan platforms, I have seen firsthand how digital solutions are shaping lives and livelihoods. DigiKen is helping Kenya chart a path that is bold, rights-based, and future-ready.
Milou Vanmulken, Programme Manager, Digitalization representing the European Union, emphasized DigiKen’s strategic importance to EU priorities:
DigiKen is of particular interest to the EU as it addresses vital areas such as platform governance, AI policy, digital inclusion, and the fight against disinformation. It is essential that we build synergies with other EU-funded initiatives to amplify our collective impact.
Way Forward
The Steering Committee underscored the importance of a strong inter-agency collaboration to sustain and accelerate the programme’s impact. Members also committed to increasing engagement with financial institutions, innovators, and beneficiary communities to ensure local broad-based support and success of the project in Kenya.
As it enters its next phase, DigiKen continues to set a powerful precedent of how digital development can be inclusive, locally rooted, globally aligned, and future-facing ensuring no one is left behind in Kenya’s digital future.
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
