Kenya’s status as a major technological innovator in recent years has positioned it as Africa’s Silicon Valley, but what implications does this have for the continent’s future prospects? And how can we mitigate the burgeoning shortcomings? This piece looks at some of the most salient challenges of digital technologies in Kenya today.
Keywords: Africa, Digital Infrastructure, Privacy, China, Surveillance, Statehood, Liberation, Development
By Jessica Poon
The past two decades have seen a 400% rise in internet access throughout Sub-Saharan Africa - the fastest growth rate of any region in history. [1] The academic literature surrounding development in Africa is somewhat ambivalent on the use of digital technologies and internet access as an emancipatory tool. [2] However, salient arguments have been made for an Africa-first brand of digital innovation and governance, breaking from the tendency to see Africa as a subservient figure within its partnerships. This position posits that emerging technologies might be used to reinsert African agency rather than colouring the continent’s ambitions with neocolonial tropes. This potential for innovation and governance is particularly advanced in Kenya, often hailed as “Silicon Savannah” in the wider grey literature, for its fast-growing tertiary industry and increasingly connected consumer demographic. [3]
Kenya’s rapidly-advancing digital infrastructure brings with it growing web access and a greater proliferation of mobile technology. Furthermore, digital technologies have provided Kenya with a chance to amplify its voice on the world stage, having previously been filtered through representatives and international bodies ranging from autocrats to NGOs. While the emancipatory potential of new technologies cannot be denied, the key challenges outlined here lie questionable export models, mainly from China, a dominant trade partner for the African continent. Lack of accountability at the state-level in Kenya, as a technology hub, could lead to a loss of civil liberties in the long-term if partnerships and their supply chains are not met with the appropriate level of scrutiny.
Kenya has one of the highest concentrations of mobile users on the continent, with 89% of Kenyans reporting access to mobile devices. [4] Such technologies are not merely a nexus at which economy and governance meet, but also give rise to digital networks which parallel existing community structures; these technologies reach and connect those outside the boundaries of a traditional community. Mobile phone proliferation and the networks of communities allow for development projects to be effectively scaled to a more local level. For instance, technology has been used to accommodate distinct domestic needs, evidenced in the participatory community-based responses to issues ranging from governance, agriculture, and microfinance. Software and applications such as Ushahidi, Digicow, and M-Pesa have forged substantive networks in their respective communities, bridging communication gaps and sharing information at a scale more typically found at state-level. Kenya sees communication technologies adapting to suit the needs of local people, attesting to an enthusiasm for collaborating and exercising agency at a grassroots level. [5]
Recent years however, have witnessed a shift from traditional infrastructure projects such as railways and tramlines, to more software-oriented projects in fibre optic cables, telecoms, and surveillance. [6] The shift towards digital infrastructure is not without contentions, given the governance systems that accompany these developments. Kenya’s technological turn has led to greater means of networked public sharing and exchange of information, which distributes power in less concentrated ways, redressing the dynamic between traditional hierarchies of citizen and state. [7] The ability of ordinary Kenyans to assert their agency through technology is also reflected in trends on freedom and accountability, with a majority (60%) of Kenyans believing that there is greater freedom of speech than in previous years. [8] Despite the wider benefits that these technologies bring, they also embroil the country in issues that have traditionally been the preserve of the Global North, such as disinformation campaigns and election-meddling. These challenges are mirrored in Kenya’s burgeoning digital capabilities, notably during the 2007 elections that resulted in outbreaks of violence across the country. [9]
The benefits brought by digital infrastructure projects are often tempered by wider political agendas. The major players in the Kenyan technology market, namely Huawei and ZTE, are state-affiliated companies whose products are designed with a Chinese governance model in mind. [10] These provide what Nanjala Nyabola identifies as ‘surveillance architecture’. [11] Bugging, data leaks, and backdoor mechanisms are all part of a wider “mass data sweep” which affects those at a civilian and state-level alike. [12] This export model implicates Kenya’s trade deals at state-level in Chinese politics at a corresponding level, thereby weakening democractic accountability and consumer trust. It also sees human rights issues surface when the political asymmetry of China’s offering is taken into account. China’s authoritarian use of technology as a means of state surveillance is evidenced domestically in Chinese territories as well as further afield in its African partnerships, most notably in Addis Ababa, where the African Union’s headquarters were allegedly bugged with the information returned to Chinese sources. [13] This could be seen as legitimising similar actions to those taken during Kenya’s 2007 election, in which state-level surveillance of civilians was carried across forums and social media to quash rights to free speech and political protest. [14]
Another challenge lies in a lack of supply chain transparency when it comes to looking at data as a key asset for the country’s development. Kenya’s burgeoning digital economy has joined a globalised sphere which views data as the new oil. But unlike siphoning off a physical commodity like oil, the transfer of high volumes of data is more opaque, with information moving surreptitiously across borders constantly. This data can be used for the improvement of public services or for the surveillance and repression of civilians in equal measure. Civilians need to know that they can trust the deals brokered at an elite level, as well as what to demand from the future iterations of digital infrastructure. [15] Given Kenya’s proven appetite for adapting existing technologies to local needs, there is some feasibility for leveraging community-based networks local and sub-national structures for greater democratic traction. In addition to this, a network of digital rights advocates uniting multilaterals, nation states, and private sector organisations could further support accountable leadership. Kenya’s leadership in the digital governance space needs to ensure that its technological offering is accountable to consumers at every level of society. This will not only tackle emerging domestic issues, but lay the foundations for Africa’s late-adopting digital regions. [16]
Though Kenya’s status as an innovation hub is still in its infancy, it is a country which highlights some of the key digital developments to come. What has been presented here is a timely discussion of trends which will likely develop greater momentum within the next few years. For the moment, digital infrastructure in Africa needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis. However, given the rapidly-changing digital landscape and increasing geopolitical interest in what Africa can offer as a mutual partner, there is scope for the lessons learned from Kenya’s digital leadership to be applied to concurrent developments in the near future.
Sources
[1] Internet World Stats, (2020) [online]. IWS. Available from: https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm [Accessed 21 Apr 2020].
[2] Ndemo, B. Weiss, T. & SpringerLink (Online service) (2017), Digital Kenya: An Entrepreneurial Revolution in the Making, Palgrave Macmillan UK, London.
[3] Mallonee, L., 2018. The Techies Turning Kenya Into a Silicon Savannah. Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/kenya-silicon-savannah-photo-gallery/ [Accessed 21 Apr 2020].
[4] Afrobarometer, (2016-18). The Online Data Analysis Tool [online]. Afrobarometer. Available from: https://afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis/analyse-online [Accessed 21 Apr 2020].
[5] Diepeveen, S. (2019), "The limits of publicity: Facebook and transformations of a public realm in Mombasa, Kenya", Journal of Eastern African Studies, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 158-174.
[6] Li, S. & SpringerLink (Online service) (2017), Mediatized China-Africa Relations: How Media Discourses Negotiate the Shifting of Global Order, Springer Singapore, Singapore.
[7] ibid.
[8] Afrobarometer, (2016-18). The Online Data Analysis Tool [online]. Afrobarometer. Available from: https://afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis/analyse-online [Accessed 21 Apr 2020].=
[9] Goldstein, J., Rotich, J., 2008. Digitally Networked Technology In Kenya’s 2007-2008 Post-Election Crisis [online]. Berkman Klein Center. Available from: https://cyber.harvard.edu/publications/2008/Digitally_Networked_Technology_Kenyas_Post-Election_Crisis [Accessed 21 Apr 2020].
[10] Li, A. (2016), "Technology transfer in China-Africa relation: myth or reality", Transnational Corporations Review, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 183-195.
[11] Tsalikis, C., (2019). Nanjala Nyabola On The “Digital Colonialism” Transforming Kenya’s Political Discourse [online]. Centre For International Governance Innovation. Available from: https://www.cigionline.org/articles/nanjala-nyabola-digital-colonialism-transforming-kenyas-political-discourse [Accessed 16 Apr 2020].
[12] ibid.
[13] Li, S. & SpringerLink (Online service) (2017), Mediatized China-Africa Relations: How Media Discourses Negotiate the Shifting of Global Order, Springer Singapore, Singapore.
[14] Olukotun, A., Omotoso, S.A. & SpringerLink (Online service) (2017), Political Communication in Africa, Springer International Publishing, Cham.
[15] Paradigm Initiative, 2020. Digital Rights In Africa Report 2019 [online]. Paradigm Initiative. Available from: https://paradigmhq.org/dra2019/ [Accessed 12 Apr 2020].