Forecasting is not an exact science, and it can be hard to sort real trends from hype. This is especially true when it comes to tech. Case in point, the start of 2022 witnessed excitement around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrency, and the metaverse, but by the end of the year, none had lived up to the hype.

Meanwhile, at the 2023 at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, the conversation was around the themes of 5G Acceleration, Reality+ (immersive experiences), OpenNet, FinTech and Digital Everything.

That said, it is worthwhile to look at the proverbial crystal ball and hazard an educated guess as to what technology will shake up our lives in 2023.

The Safaricom Newsroom asked three Kenyan tech watchers – Nick Kanali, Emmanuel Chenze and Mbugua Njihia – what tech trends they thought would impact Kenyans lives in 2023. Their email responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Emmanuel Chenze is the Editor at Android Kenya & Mobile Kenya

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – “For the end user, both personal and corporate”.
2. IoT, the Internet of Things, presents a scalable opportunity both for the government as well as private enterprises with increasing internet penetration, a biting drought and focus on the country’s food security, and rising electricity costs.
3. While 2022 witnessed the setting up of regional and continental hubs in Nairobi by various global tech and financial services companies like Visa, Microsoft and Google but 2023 looks to be the year when we will experience a cooldown. This is attributed to the cautious approach taken by the industry to wean off the effects of an economic slowdown post-pandemic. Local tech talent will continue being introduced and ready for the market at a much faster rate than we have seen previously.
4. With players like Safaricom furthering their expansion of 5G networks across the country, we are bound to witness not only the growth of 5G network coverage but also an explosion of 5G smartphones in the country. While 5G smartphones already exist in the Kenyan market, and have existed over the last few years, they have not been impactful and they’ve been largely limited to the high-end and upper mid-range smartphone segments. 2023 is the year we get to see a number of 5G phone offerings launched locally that directly address the majority of Kenyans: those who spend not more than Kshs 25,000 on smartphones.
5. The impending availability of satellite internet provider Starlink in Kenya is bound to ruffle the feathers of existing players like Safaricom. However, given the high barrier for entry associated with satellite internet, this will not be as impactful as many may think. What it will do is to offer options in a market that badly needs them.
6. Electric vehicles are here and are here to stay. Many will interact with them, for the first time, as public service vehicles offering transit services especially in Nairobi County. This is expected to be the beginning of a trend that will last for decades to come as the internal combustion engine takes a back seat and battery-powered motors pick up from where it has left. By year’s end, there should be a significant addition to the number of electric vehicles charging stations, laying the groundwork for the wider adoption of EVs.

Nixon Kanali is Founder and Editor in Chief at TechTrends Media

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be huge and thanks to platforms like CHATGPT.  AI has already become part of our lives through e-commerce and social media algorithms and this trend is expected to grow and shape how we interact with tech in 2023.
2. Internet of Things (IoT) is also another trend we should look out for considering the country is already rolling out 5G thanks to telcos like Safaricom. What this means is we’re going to see a rise in IoT devices and services, especially those related to health considering we just came from the pandemic the other year.
3. We should expect to see a vibrant startup ecosystem this year. The country has been ranked among the top five startup ecosystems in the MEA region and there is so much to look forward to. As someone who writes so much about startups, we should expect to see lots of VC putting in money in these startups, especially in fintech and AI and even media startups. Layoffs in the tech sector have spread across small, medium and large enterprises and the trend continues in 2023. Already some of our local startups like Copia have already started sending people home. Global companies like Google, Microsoft, Cisco, etc have also been doing the and we expect to see their local staff being affected.
4. Mobile Connectivity which has continued to play a big role in how we run our daily lives is also something we expect to continue increasing this year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 3 per cent of all connections will be on 5G by 2025 according to GSMA. Over this same period, GSMA notes that 4G adoption in the region will also double to 28 per cent, compared to a global average of 57 per cent. By the end of 2025, 5G will account for 3 per cent of total mobile connections in the region. This paints a clear picture of how the future of mobile connectivity will look like in Kenya and other countries.

Mbugua Njihia is the head of business and partnerships at Sure Corporation | @mbuguanjihia

1. People, our largest resource can only be productive if healthy. More work will go into ensuring reliable healthcare systems across the entire value chain. Data silos and rusty logistics are some challenges that still need work.
2. On people, we will see solutions applied towards education, more so upskilling as many seek to build knowledge and become better equipped for a changing job market – local or remote, or to better run their business and access new markets. Looking at post-secondary niche education solutions.

1. A country cannot grow on an empty stomach. While globally, precision agriculture is advanced in practice, here we still need to figure out our shift from rain-fed agriculture and develop a good mix of large and smallholder initiatives to ensure that we can feed ourselves sustainably.