AI Capability, Not Tools, Will Drive Business Growth

Kenyan business leaders have been urged to move beyond experimenting with artificial intelligence and embed it into their core business operations, with executives warned that long-term competitiveness will depend less on access to technology than on an organisation’s ability to use it effectively.

The message emerged during the Modern Work, Cloud & AI Executive Breakfast hosted in Nairobi by Syntura in partnership with Microsoft and Westcon-Comstor. The executive forum brought together leaders from healthcare, media, financial services, and technology to discuss how organisations can unlock business value from AI, cloud computing, and Microsoft’s modern workplace technologies.

Vincent Entonu, Managing Director for Westcon Microsoft Sub-Saharan Africa, said organisations should focus on building capability rather than simply acquiring technology.

“Technology can always be bought. Capability cannot,” he said, emphasising that AI success depends on developing the right skills, data foundations, governance structures, and organisational culture.

The discussion reflected a broader shift in enterprise AI adoption, with executives agreeing that AI is no longer a standalone technology investment but a strategic business capability that will increasingly determine competitiveness and growth.

Organisers highlighted research showing the scale of the opportunity. McKinsey estimates generative AI could contribute up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy through productivity gains, while PwC projects AI will add $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 2030. Gartner also forecasts that by 2028 nearly one-third of enterprise software applications will incorporate agentic AI capable of executing tasks autonomously.

The discussions echoed Microsoft’s vision of the “Frontier Firm,” introduced in its 2025 Work Trend Index, which describes organisations where humans and AI agents work together to improve productivity, decision-making, and business outcomes.

Several speakers emphasised that successful AI adoption begins with data.

Dr Magdalyne Kamande, Director of ICT and Transformation Services at The Nairobi Hospital, said organisations must first establish reliable, well-governed data before deploying AI solutions.

“You cannot build intelligent systems on fragmented, manual records,” she said.

Executives also shared examples of AI already delivering measurable business value. Russell Akuom, Nation Media Group Chief Information Officer, discussed AI’s role in strengthening editorial quality control and reducing legal risk, while participants noted that organizations are increasingly measuring AI success through improvements in customer experience, operational efficiency, compliance, and decision-making rather than direct revenue alone.

The event also highlighted the growing expectations facing Kenyan businesses as customers increasingly compare local digital experiences with global platforms such as Amazon, Uber, and Netflix.

Syntura, which expanded into East Africa in 2025 and recently opened a Microsoft-focused experience centre in Nairobi, co-hosted the forum alongside Microsoft and technology distributor Westcon-Comstor. The discussions focused on practical steps organisations can take to build AI-ready enterprises through secure cloud infrastructure, modern workplace technologies, cybersecurity, and digital skills.

Participants concluded that while organisations may not yet have every answer on artificial intelligence, delaying adoption is no longer an option as AI becomes a foundational capability across industries.