NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 31 – Kenya’s next phase of growth will increasingly depend on reliable digital connectivity. As businesses, institutions and communities adopt cloud services, digital platforms, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, connectivity is becoming one of the country’s most important foundations for competitiveness, inclusion and innovation.
Roads, ports, railways and industrial investments remain essential to Kenya’s development. But in today’s economy, connectivity deserves to be discussed in the same breath.
It enables people, businesses and institutions to transact, learn, access services, innovate and compete.
It is easy to think of connectivity as simply keeping us online. Yet it has become the invisible infrastructure behind modern life, supporting the systems, services and platforms that people and businesses increasingly rely on every day.
Kenya’s digital progress reflects this shift. According to the Communications Authority of Kenya’s latest Audience Measurement and Industry Trends Report, the country had an average of 18.8 million internet users.
In the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, internet usage stood at 57%, with usage highest among young people aged 15–24 years, at 74% among those aged 18–24.
This figure shows the central role that mobile connectivity now plays in Kenya’s digital economy.
As more people and businesses rely on digital platforms and connected services, the infrastructure supporting them will become increasingly important.
Artificial intelligence, automation and advanced digital services will only be as strong as the connectivity that underpins them.
Across the economy, this shift is becoming visible in practical ways. In agriculture, connected cold storage and market platforms can reduce losses for perishable produce and help farmers reach buyers faster.
For logistics businesses, IoT-enabled fleet tracking is improving visibility, safety and efficiency.
For SMEs, cloud services and cybersecurity are making it easier to digitise operations without heavy upfront infrastructure.
In commerce, connectivity is helping small businesses sell beyond their immediate neighbourhoods, while in education it is expanding access to digital learning and literacy.
In financial services, mobile platforms are deepening inclusion by giving more people access not only to payments, but also to savings, credit, investment and other tools for building wealth.
This demand is also visible in how much data Kenyans are using.
According to the Communications Authority, average monthly mobile broadband use rose to 15.1GB per subscription, increasing to 53.5GB among 5G users.
This growing appetite for data strengthens the case for continued investment in networks that can support cloud computing, attract technology investment and deepen Kenya’s position as a regional digital hub.
At Safaricom, we see this transition every day. Our vision is to become Africa’s leading purpose-led technology company by 2030, but that ambition is rooted in what customers are asking for: trusted connectivity, secure platforms, cloud capabilities, cybersecurity solutions and technology that helps them grow in a more digital economy.
Meeting those expectations requires continued investment in expanding coverage, modernising infrastructure, strengthening cybersecurity and preparing networks for the technologies that will shape the decade ahead.
That is why network expansion must continue to reach communities that are still underserved. Safaricom added over 500 new sites in our last financial year ended March 2026, in rural areas to boost connectivity, improve service availability and bring more people into the digital economy.
Beyond mobile coverage, we also continued to expand fibre as a critical part of Kenya’s digital infrastructure, growing our metro fibre footprint to more than 18,300 kilometres and connecting over 130,000 homes by the end of the year.
For households, small businesses, schools and health facilities outside major urban centres, such investment can determine whether digital transformation is a lived reality or a distant promise.
No single institution can deliver this transformation alone. Government, regulators, technology providers, businesses and academia all have a role in keeping Kenya’s digital progress inclusive, investment-friendly and anchored in the needs of citizens and enterprises.
Kenya has already shown what is possible when innovation is supported by strong connectivity.
The opportunity now is to keep building digital foundations that allow every community, business and institution to participate fully in the next phase of growth.
As technology reshapes how people learn, trade, access services and create value, reliable and inclusive connectivity will remain one of the most important enablers of Kenya’s digital future.
–By James Maitai–
