With the emergence of powerful technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Africa is at a defining moment. If harnessed well, technology can turn long-standing challenges into powerful opportunities.
With more than 70 per cent of its population under the age of 35, Africa holds vast untapped potential. Yet, youth unemployment, and failure to fully empower women, remains a stubborn issue. The 2023 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report shows Kenya releases 800,000 young people into the job market yearly, but the economy is struggling to create enough formal jobs.
To address this crisis, African countries, especially Kenya, must embrace emerging technologies like AI to empower our youth. AI is no longer a tool for only scientists and tech giants; it is becoming increasingly a necessity in our day-to-day activities. With the right support and knowledge, AI can empower young Africans to be job creators and innovators.
AI is redefining how industries worldwide operate. From agriculture and healthcare to finance and logistics, it powers solutions that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and unlock new business models. With AI, a young Kenyan with a laptop and an internet connection can develop an app that diagnoses plant diseases, build a voice assistant supporting local languages such as Kiswahili or Maasai to address local solutions.
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With digital platforms breaking down geographic barriers, youth from Garissa, Kakamega, or Kisumu can participate in the global economy provided they have the skills. This brings the necessity of digital literacy in our education system. While Kenya has made progress in this regard, there’s still more that must be done to integrate AI education into schools, vocational training centres (TVETs), colleges and universities.
Beyond the theory, youth must learn how to apply AI to offer solutions to real-world problems whether that means helping a local business automate its customer service or using machine learning to track crop yields. In many rural parts of Kenya and underserved areas, access to stable internet, reliable electricity, and digital devices remains a challenge that must be addressed.
The gender gap in tech is also a major concern, with young women and girls often excluded from opportunities in STEM and tech. If Kenya is to move a step further in empowering its youth with the new technologies, the government must invest in enabling women and address other challenges by investing in infrastructure, digital inclusion, and deliberate and targeted outreaches to marginalised communities.
Public-private partnerships also play a vital role in this journey. Tech companies across Africa should take deliberate action and reinvest locally through mentorship, low-cost training, and building innovation hubs. Africa must shift from just being consumers of AI built from other contexts to creators of AI solutions. That means building tools in our own ways, for our own challenges – such as mobile health apps for remote areas, education platforms that adapt to local curriculums and languages, or agricultural solutions for small-scale farmers.
AI is not a magic fix, but it offers a solid foundation for reimagining job creation, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
-Writer is a youth leader in Kakamega County
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By Vivian Rahiza