Kenya's Open Source Software Stack Takes Shape

Kenya Launches OSPO to Build Sovereign Digital Infrastructures

Kenya launched an Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) within its Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy (MICDE), making it the first African country to do so. The main drivers behind the OSPO is the creation of sovereign digital infrastructures and eventually a Kenya open source software stack.

The Kenyan OSPO will serve as a national centre for open source adoption, coordinating efforts across government, industry, and academia. It will foster innovation, collaboration, and capacity building while developing and maintaining resilient Digital Public Infrastructures (DPI) and Digital Public Goods (DPGs).

The OSPO has been established under the Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE)project. Funded by the European Commission, the initiative seeks to empower local and regional public and private actors to effectively adopt open source technologies for delivering digital government services.

The OSEE project is implemented by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations (UN) agency for global ICT standards and policy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN agency focused on poverty reduction and sustainable development.

On 19 March 2026, Evans Ikua (Project manager, ITU) held a webinar to present the activities and vision behind the OSPO. He presented key points such as building local capacity and the ambition to develop a Kenyan Sovereign Open Source Digital Stack

This session featured an appearance from Mary Kerema OGW (Secretary ICT, E-Government and Digital Economy, MICDE) who delivered opening remarks on behalf of Principal Secretary of MICDE, Eng. John Kipchumba Tanui. The opening remarks emphasised the Government of Kenya’s commitment to adopting open source software and promoting open standards and interoperability as key drivers of the country’s digital transformation. This vision is aligned with the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy, which aims to establish a continent-wide Digital Single Market. While the strategy doesn't explicitly mention open source, it highlights the promotion of open standards, open data and interoperability as critical enablers of cross-border digital services and integration.

Kenya's current open source policy landscape: mandates in place, gaps to bridge

The Kenyan Government has a policy that favors open source software, instructing to use open source solutions if possible. The national ICT policy requires that government-developed software must be published as open source. The policy is supported by the ICT authority introducing key frameworks such as the Government Enterprise Architecture and theGovernment Interoperability Framework, both of which stress the adoption of open source software.

However, the key challenge in Kenya is the fragmented implementation of open source across government agencies. To address this, the government is conducting a national survey to map current usage. One of the OSPO’s goals is to guide further adoption of open source software, and ensure policy compliance, security, and consistency across government systems.

The path to the Kenya Stack

Evans says that eventually, these efforts aim to establish a “Kenya Stack” of sovereign open source software solutions. This stack will follow the principles of openness, interoperability, and shared standards, enabling a more cohesive government technology framework. According to Ikua, the success depends on strong cross-sector partnerships and improving local expertise. These partnerships are meant to build a unified system that supports public sector services. He also highlighted the importance of learning from the European Union’s approach to developing a sovereign technology stack, while adapting these strategies to fit local needs. Evans mentioned that the execution of the Kenya stack project could take 5-10 years.

Investing in the future though local capacity building

During the webinar, Ikua underscored that local capacity building is essential for national technology management. Training programmes developed in partnership with training providers, like the Government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), foster young local talent and equip technical teams with advanced IT skills. The result will be technical working groups, who will implement and maintain the created digital infrastructures. So far, two cohorts have been trained, and they have been encouraged to provide feedback on training to guide future capacity-building initiatives.

Photos by Kenny Murgor on Unsplash