Establishment of the Kenya National Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) announced AT THE GLOBAL DPI SUMMIT in Cape Town Today, at the Global Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Summit, Kenya marked a significant milestone in our digital transformation journey with the joint announcement of the establishment of the Kenya National Open Source Programme Office (OSPO), developed under the Open-Source Ecosystem Enablement (OSEE) Project in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and supported by the Government of Germany through BMZ. This landmark initiative positions Kenya among the first countries globally—and the first in Africa—to set up a national OSPO in collaboration with ITU. The OSPO will serve as a central hub to coordinate, promote and sustain open-source adoption across government, innovation ecosystems, academia, private sector and our developer communities. We appreciate the leadership and recognition from Dr. Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, who joined the session to congratulate Kenya for this bold and strategic step. We also acknowledge the presence of Ms. Katherina Mänz, Acting Head of Digital at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), underscoring the strong international partnership supporting Kenya’s Digital Public Infrastructure agenda. 🔹 Why this matters for Kenya and Africa This initiative is more than a technology program — it is about digital sovereignty, innovation, skills development, and empowering nations to co-create, co-own and co-innovate digital public goods. The OSPO will: • Build national capacity on open-source development, security and governance • Promote reuse of digital public goods and reduce duplication of government ICT investments • Strengthen interoperability and co-creation of digital solutions across government • Enable Kenya to serve as a regional lighthouse, sharing learnings with other African nations This collaboration aligns strongly with Kenya’s Digital Master Plan 2022–2032, the Africa digital transformation agenda, and the global movement towards open, inclusive and interoperable DPIs. This is timely coming ahead of the planned Software and AI Summit to be held in Eldoret from 10th to 12th November and Moi University Annex Campus. 🌍 Global Context ITU is currently working with a small number of countries to establish OSPOs under the OSEE and GovStack initiatives. With today’s announcement, Kenya joins the front-runners, alongside countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, the Philippines and Ukraine, as champions of Open Digital Public Infrastructure. Kenya remains committed to building a vibrant, secure and sustainable open-source ecosystem that advances digital inclusion, innovation, and prosperity for all. #DigitalKenya #OpenSource #DPI #GovStack #ITU #BMZ #OSEE #Innovation #DigitalEconomy #AfricaRising