Safaricom’s flagship engineering summit, Decode 4.0, has formally kicked off in Nairobi as we speak. This can be a three-day occasion that brings collectively builders, innovators and international expertise companions together with Microsoft, Google, Dell Applied sciences, and Huawei to discover the following section of Kenya’s digital development.
The theme this 12 months is “Made for Kenya” and celebrates the ingenuity, creativity and resilience that has positioned Kenya as a frontrunner in expertise and digital innovation.
The occasion is predicted to interact over 100,000 contributors each bodily and nearly. Now in its fourth version, Decode has advanced to a platform for constructing, experimenting and scaling real-world options. It does this by incorporating builder labs, code labs and mentorship periods that type a core a part of the expertise.
“Decode offers that vitality a spot to come back alive,” mentioned Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa. “By bringing builders, creators, and problem-solvers collectively, we’re creating options that may scale throughout Africa and past.”
Synthetic Intelligence has taken centre stage this 12 months, from keynote periods to hands-on labs. AI is being positioned as a foundational layer for Kenya’s subsequent section of financial transformation alongside fintech and artistic tech.
One of many key messages got here from Safaricom government Dilip Pal, who framed AI because the defining pressure of the longer term.
“The longer term has a reputation—Synthetic Intelligence.”
His message was not simply in regards to the hype however centered on execution as nicely.
“The query just isn’t whether or not AI will change Kenya, however whether or not we’re prepared for it.”
On the occasion, the theme all through was the shift from experimentation to real-world deployment. Pal used a easy however highly effective analogy to clarify the present state of AI adoption:
“We’ve the components. However the kitchen have to be prepared.”
In different phrases, whereas the expertise exists, many organizations nonetheless lack the information infrastructure, governance frameworks and expert expertise required to completely reap the benefits of AI.
All this aligns very nicely with Safaricom’s broader push to place itself not simply as a telco, however as a expertise firm powering digital ecosystems throughout the area.
Safaricom says the summit is a part of a broader effort to construct digital expertise pipelines, with ongoing initiatives resembling Decode Cafés, mentorship applications and community-based studying experiences deliberate past the occasion.
We will likely be overlaying Decode 4.0 for the following couple of days and you may observe us on Social Media to be taught extra. Comply with us on X (Previously Twitter), Fb, LinkedIn and Telegram.
Additionally Learn: Safaricom Requires Quicker Cloud Adoption at Decode 3.0


