Kenyan firms adopting in-house tech solutions to spur AI jobs

Kenyan firms are increasingly developing in-house technology solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive demand for a skilled workforce, as revealed by Deloitte's analysis of 1,300 firms that submitted entries for the 2026 CIO100 Awards. Instead of relying on external sources, many companies are transitioning towards building internal AI-driven teams to create tailored applications, reduce costs, and minimize complexity.

Arnold Ng'ang'a, Senior Manager for Consulting Services at Deloitte, explains that this shift enables organizations to develop solutions more efficiently and with less complexity than when they outsource.

The trend has been boosted by AI, which is the top investment priority for participating organizations. The shift towards in-house solutions has opened opportunities for skilled graduates in areas such as AI training, cybersecurity, data annotation, and AI product management. According to Ng'ang'a, this demand for skilled workers is a positive indicator of employment prospects.

Harry Hare, Chairman CIO Africa by dx5, highlights that 84.8% of submissions identified AI as a priority investment over the next 12 to 24 months. While 61.8% of the awarded projects utilized AI, 25.7% employed generative AI for creating text, images, and other content. However, many firms are still unprepared to counter AI-driven cyber threats, with only 38.6% of organizations possessing incident response capabilities against such attacks.

Despite the growing adoption of AI, there is a noticeable gap between investment plans and actual implementation, suggesting that some organizations are still figuring out how to effectively utilize AI technology. Submissions for the 2026 CIO100 Awards, set to take place next month, have come from ten countries, including Kenya.