Kenya – Silicon Savannah: Many Shadows

In the world of digital technology, Kenya is known as the “Silicon Savannah,” an explicit reference to America’s Silicon Valley and a hope that the country can become the next global hub for the sector. This ambition is not without foundation, but it masks profound contradictions, starting with the exploitative conditions experienced by many of those who fuel this sector from within.

Attention to its digital evolution dates back to 2007, when the mobile phone company Safaricom introduced M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service that used the country’s widespread telephone network. It wasn’t the first experiment of its kind in the world, but it has been recognised as the most successful.

The evolution of information technology has continued with the creation of innovative platforms, such as Ushahidi, which was tested in tracking people during crises and disasters, and is now also used as an information-gathering tool to engage individuals and communities in actions of social, environmental, and economic transformation.

Innovation Hubs

There is no shortage of hubs promoting digital innovation, such as iHub, the most important pan-African system, which, as its homepage states, “aims to accelerate the application of social and technological capital for economic prosperity in Africa.” The government has also invested in the sector, both financially and politically, to make the country a global technology hub.

Of particular importance is the Konza Technopolis, a full-fledged science park and innovation hub included in the project for the largest smart city in East Africa, which is already taking shape on a 5,000-acre site 60 km from Nairobi. The commitment to training the human capital necessary for digital development is also significant. Almost all universities have a faculty that trains their staff, probably too many to be absorbed into the world of work, which is increasingly digital, but still limited compared to expectations. The majority who are left out are often frustrated by having to scale back their dreams and are often burdened by a government loan that enables them to complete their studies.

Exploitation

This is fertile ground for multinationals in the sector, which find an abundant supply of skilled labour willing to work under any conditions. The need has grown dramatically with the development of artificial intelligence, which relies on a vast, constantly updated repository of data. Tens of thousands of young Kenyans are hired for this purpose on short-term contracts, with no guarantees, and hourly wages of up to $2 per hour. Virtually all multinationals in the sector – OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and others – are using this method, working through intermediaries like Appen, which specialise in creating credible databases for artificial intelligence.

The exploitation is so great that many speak of “digital slavery,” particularly in computer-assisted work involving data classification, archive clean-up, and other similar tasks necessary to feed AI: essential work, yet severely undervalued and underpaid. Furthermore, the work poses high risks to the mental health of workers, forced to work at a frenetic pace and often for long hours, navigating shocking images of abuse of all kinds, in order to “teach” artificial intelligence how to filter them properly. Many have already reported serious psychological trauma, without having either the right or the opportunity to receive adequate specialised support.

The world of digital technology is therefore fraught with pitfalls, especially in Africa, where the legislation supposed to regulate it is particularly weak, if not completely non-existent. However, there is no shortage of those committed to supporting its transformation, such as Project Ether (Ethical Tech Ecosystem for Human Rights), a Nairobi-based collective of African innovators, technologists, and digital workers, with the goal of “creating spaces where voices are heard, work is valued, and every contribution counts.”

Bruna Sironi – SouthWorld