Key Facts
- Currency: Kenyan shilling (KES)
- Exchange rate (per $): KES 129 (January 2025)
- Foreign direct investment inflow (2022): $448 million
- Major language: English (official language)
- Major religions: Christianity, Islam
- Major exports in $ million (2020): Tea ($1,200), refined petroleum ($308), gold ($262) and coffee ($229)
- Major export destinations with export value in $ million (2020): Uganda ($940), Pakistan ($515), Netherlands ($503), United States ($496) and United Kingdom ($435)
- IT market value (2020): ~ $575 million
- Salary range (monthly): ~ $300–$1360
- Principal ICT service offerings: Contact centre services, managed services, human resources outsourcing, market research, digital marketing, data centre and infrastructure hosting, cloud services, software development, cybersecurity.
Highlights
Kenya is considered the economic, financial and transportation hub of East Africa. It operates a serviceoriented economy led by tourism. International arrivals were worth $1.3 billion in 2021 (65% growth over 2019).
The banking and financial sector is relatively welldeveloped and serves domestic and regional markets. Almost 84% of the population has access to formal financial services and products. The telecom sector is well developed. Mobile subscriptions reached 65.1 million in 2021 from 49.5 million in 2018. Agriculture, forestry and fishing contribute about 22.4% of GDP. Roughly 54% of Kenya’s employed workforce works in the agricultural sector.
Kenya has emerged as a central ICT hub in East Africa. A robust telecom infrastructure, coupled with the availability of talent, is helping the country progress in the tech sector. Popularly known as Silicon Savannah, Kenya’s ICT sector, valued at $2.5 billion, accounted for 3.5% of total GDP in 2021. The sector’s contribution to Kenyan GDP has averaged 3.28% a year since 2017.
Government incentives and policies for ICT Sector in Kenya
Developing the technology sector is one of the flagship initiatives of Kenya Vision 2030. The Government aims for the industry to contribute 10% of GDP by 2030 and has created a roadmap to make Kenya a leading IT/BPM destination. Kenya Vision 2030 places a strong emphasis on expanding the country’s IT industry. It acknowledges the crucial role that research and development play in speeding economic growth in all of the world’s increasingly prospering nations.
To support Kenya Vision 2030, the Government is developing a science, technology and innovation policy framework. More funds will be allocated to scientific research, improving the technical skills of the workforce and the standard of math, science and technology instruction in K–12 classrooms, polytechnics and universities. Increased enrolment in public and private colleges is encouraged, with a focus on programmes in science and technology.
The Government has introduced the following initiatives to reach its goals for the sector:
- Pasha Centres: These ICT hubs aim to increase
internet penetration in rural areas and promote the
digital inclusion of all citizens. - Konza Technology Park: Invested 100 million Kenyan
shillings (about $706,040 today) to develop the essential
infrastructure for investors to set up technology and IT/BPM businesses. - Centre of Excellence: Established with leading
tech companies and the University of Nairobi to train
students in IT and business process outsourcing
skills and build human resources to meet the sector’s
demands. - Mulot Software Factory in Bomet: In 2022, the ICT authority announced the launching of a software factory in Mulot, Bomet County. This establishment was a direct result of adopting the two-theme-based Digital Master Plan 2022–2032, which establishes a need to have two software industries in the country. The factory is expected to create 100,000 Software engineering jobs in Kenya
Business development incentives in Kenya for ICT sector
- Export processing zone programme, offering incentives to investors in export businesses.
- 10-year corporate income tax holiday and a 25% tax rate for a further 10 years thereafter
- 10-year withholding tax holiday on dividends and other remittances to non-resident parties.
- Perpetual exemption from VAT and customs imports duties on inputs, including building materials, office supplies, petroleum fuel for generators and boilers, and other commodities. Additionally, local purchases of goods and services provided by businesses in Kenya’s customs territory or domestic market are exempt from VAT.
- Stamp duty exemptions
- Over a 20-year period, new investments in export processing zone machinery and buildings are eligible for a 100% investment deduction
- Kenya Investment Authority, which targets investment promotion, investor facilitation and aftercare services for investors, plays a crucial support role in facilitating investments.
- Subsidizing taxes on computer hardware and software.
- Zero value-added tax for export service billing.
- Rapid project approval and licensing within 30 days.
Beyond Kenya: Ghana and West Africa
Accra is West Africa’s second tech hub after Lagos. Most of Ghana’s software and IT service companies operate from the capital, with a smaller community in Kumasi, and they often serve neighbouring markets from there. Google opened its first African AI research centre in Accra in 2019, and the city is home to MEST, which now trains software developers to start AI companies. For programmes running in Ghana, Nigeria and elsewhere, see our guide to startup accelerators in Africa by country.
Where the agritech openings are
Agriculture still employs most working Kenyans, and smallholder farmers grow most of the region’s food with few modern tools. Four areas keep attracting founders and investors:
- Precision farming: sensors, drones, farm-management apps and weather data that smallholders can afford.
- Cold chain and post-harvest: storage and transport that cut the share of fruit, vegetables, dairy and fish lost before it reaches a buyer.
- Food processing: turning raw produce into packaged products that earn more than unprocessed exports.
- Sustainable inputs: bio-fertilisers and crop protection that raise yields without damaging soil.
Agritech founders can apply to sector programmes such as Katapult Africa; see the accelerators by sector in our Kenya guide and where the openings are in Kenya’s economy in 2027.
Rebecka Hald writes about startups, accelerators and early-stage funding in Africa for Revise. Her guides look at what programmes and investors actually offer founders, and what it takes to get from idea to first paying customers.
Revise guides are fact-checked and every source is linked. We update them when programmes, terms or numbers change.
