Kenyan business leaders urged to accelerate AI adoption at workplaces

This was primarily discussed during the Modern Work, Cloud & AI Executive Breakfast meeting hosted in Nairobi by Syntura, Microsoft and Westcon-Comstor. 

The event brought together executives from healthcare, media, financial services and technology who discussed how organisations can unlock value from AI, cloud infrastructure and modern workplace tools. 

During the event, Vincent Entonu, Managing Director, Westcon Microsoft Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasised that the AI era will be defined by an organisation's ability to build skills, systems and culture required to use advanced technology. 

"Technology can always be bought. Capability cannot," he stated. 

Magdalyne Kamande, Director of ICT at The Nairobi Hospital, echoed his sentiments, adding that successful AI transformation begins with strong data foundations and business clarity. 

"You can't build intelligent systems on fragmented, manual records. Data must first be structured, governed and trusted before AI can deliver meaningful outcomes," she stated, pointing to healthcare as one of the sectors where precision, compliance and trust are non-negotiable. 

The business leaders agreed that Africa's AI opportunity won't be defined by how quickly organisations chase trends, but by how intentionally they build the right foundations for scale. 

They noted that AI must be treated as a long-term strategic enabler of business transformation, embedded into workflows, decision-making and talent development. 

Research by Gartner shows that by 2028, nearly one-third of enterprise software applications will include AI capabilities, essentially reshaping how businesses operate. 

In the Kenyan context, the rise of AI means businesses must welcome digital transformation to become effective in the years to come.