As Kenya develops its national AI standards to grow its digital economy, organisations like Tech Innovators Network (THiNK) are playing a crucial role in shaping the country’s digital transformation.

BSI is supporting Kenyan stakeholders across the public and private sector with the AI Management Systems Practitioner Qualification training and ISO 42001 to deliver a thriving digital ecosystem, nurtured through digital skills development and tech entrepreneurship.

The Challenge

Angela Kanyi, a Software Developer at Tech Innovators Network, faced the challenge that there is no established framework of AI standards that organisations must follow in Kenya. It is a changing and evolving area, making it unclear what processes companies should adopt.

THiNK is a community-driven tech initiative that supports innovators and businesses by providing an inclusive platform for collaboration, product development with a specialism in AI Chatbots.

For Angela, understanding how to mitigate AI-related issues in a way that was practical and impactful for her work , was a top priority. She recognised that to remain competitive, it was essential for her company’s AI products to ensure users’ safety and align with both emerging national policies and international best practices.

Angela was interested in ISO 42001, the international AI management standard. Her company had already adopted parts of the Standard as well as referencing the EU AI regulations. However, it wasn’t clear to her how this Standard should be meaningfully adapted for her specific context.

A colleague recommended the BSI AI Management Systems Practitioner Qualification that supports ISO 42001 to Angela, in her role as compliance process developer.

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"My role is to understand what AI standards we need to follow, frameworks of risk and assessments of data quality I need to adopt"

A Group Picture of Tech Innovator Network (THiNK) Team

The Approach

To address these challenges, Angela completed the BSI self-paced e-learning course, AI Management Systems Practitioner Qualification. The training is designed to give professionals the knowledge and skills to assess, implement, and manage Artificial Intelligence Management Systems (AIMS) based on ISO/IEC 42001:2023 and other related AI governance standards.

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“I am working on the quality of our AI products which is why the BSI course was really intuitive and a good course for me.”

Angela found the coursework part of the training particularly helpful. It helped her to understand Standards by providing practical guidance on how governance principles could be adapted and included in AI product development.

This made sure that parts of the course were not just theoretical but could be applied in real-world scenarios to improve compliance and product quality.

The Result

The training has made a big difference to Angela’s understanding of AI governance and compliance. She also feels more confident in her expertise, ensuring her approach to AI development is informed by international standards but adapted to her organisation’s needs and Kenya’s specific context.

Key takeaways for Angela were:

●        A clearer understanding of AI risk management – Before the training, she had mainly read about risk management in legal documents. The course provided a detailed breakdown of risk frameworks, including how they can include local priorities, such as AI job displacement in Kenya.

●        Improved explainability in AI products – The training helped her understand how to measure, document, and communicate various AI characteristics such as explainability in AI systems to improve transparency.

●        Stronger AI governance frameworks – She gained practical ways to define and measure key governance elements in AI product development.

●        Better impact assessment tools – The training gave her tools to evaluate how AI products would affect individuals, organisations and society.

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“I feel more confident and knowledgeable in what I’m actually talking about because I went through a course instead of just reading off the internet or looking something up on ChatGPT.”

Translating training into impact

Developing compliance processes

Angela is using what she learnt from the training and ISO 42001 to develop a compliance process to ensure THiNK’s AI products align with both international standards and Kenya’s evolving regulations. THiNK’s new compliance process for AI products will include:

●        Identifying required governance documents to ensure compliance.

●        Understanding which AI standards to follow for their products.

●        Adapting risk management frameworks to suit their products.

●        Identifying which data quality assessments are needed to ensure AI systems are built on reliable and ethical foundations.

●        Aligning the compliance process with THiNK’s specific operational context working in Kenya.

Ongoing and sustainable impact

THiNK is building a network of evaluators within its AI Community across Kenya and the African continent. THiNK will be sharing Angela’s learning from the AI Management Systems Practitioner Qualification to these individuals, empowering them to drive compliance and innovation locally while aligning with international standards.

Growing digital trust by evaluating AI solutions

ThiNK, will use insights from this training and support from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to establish AI Standards pre-screening centres across Kenya and neighbouring countries. These centres will apply Angela’s new knowledge to evaluate AI solutions before integrating them into THiNK’s platforms. This will foster digital trust and cyber security by making sure that the solutions comply with Kenyan and global benchmarks.

Creating local language AI models

THiNK has created a Swahili AI language model and as part of the Africa Next Voices project, Angela’s team of software engineers has developed an application to collect data for five more local Kenyan language models. Angela hopes to have the opportunity to apply the training and ensure that these models are responsibly developed to improve digital access and inclusion. 

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“The training has been really helpful in confirming what characteristics I need to incorporate into my organisation’s compliance frameworks and how to measure them.”

Building a stronger digital future

THiNK’s vibrant developer and innovation community is central to its mission. By applying insights from BSI’s AI Management Systems Practitioner Qualification, Angela is enabling THiNK to evaluate solutions from its AI community rigorously, making sure only ethically aligned, high-quality innovations are integrated into its platform. In doing so, she is strengthening Kenya’s thriving digital ecosystem by supporting digital skills development and tech entrepreneurship.