Kenya and South Africa have pledged to deepen cooperation in digital innovation, financial services and investment, with artificial intelligence featuring prominently among the priority areas for joint development.
Addressing the Joint South Africa-Kenya Business Forum on Thursday night, Kenyan President William Ruto and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted the growing importance of technology, capital markets and cross-border investment in advancing continental integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Ruto said Kenya and South Africa were uniquely placed to shape Africa’s digital future by combining their respective strengths in financial innovation and capital markets. “Kenya leads the continent in fintech, mobile money and digital financial inclusion, while South Africa hosts one of Africa’s most sophisticated capital markets,” he said. “Together, we can pioneer partnerships in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, e-commerce and cross-border payments.”
Ruto used the forum to market Nairobi as a leading destination for Global Business Services and Business Process Outsourcing, citing the country’s youthful workforce, competitive operating costs and expanding digital infrastructure. He invited South African and multinational companies to establish regional service hubs in Kenya, describing the country as a strategic gateway to East and Central Africa.
Ruto also underscored the importance of mobilizing long-term capital to support infrastructure, housing, logistics and industrial development across the continent, saying Kenya was strengthening its position as a financial centre through reforms aimed at attracting fund managers, private equity firms, venture capital investors and institutional capital. “With Nairobi’s rising stature as a regional financial centre, we can deepen African capital formation and bring investment decisions closer to the markets that need them,” he said.
Ramaphosa echoed those sentiments, noting that access to capital would be critical in unlocking industrialization and infrastructure opportunities identified during the business forum. He said discussions among business leaders had demonstrated how equity, debt and patient capital could help fund trade-enabling infrastructure and accelerate economic transformation. “The finance and innovation panel set out how capital in its various forms can fund the technical and trade-facilitating infrastructure we need,” Ramaphosa said.
South African development finance institutions are already active in Kenya, including funding a major petroleum pipeline linking Mombasa and Nairobi. Ramaphosa said these institutions were eager to expand support for catalytic infrastructure projects.
Ramaphosa also pointed to the growing importance of digital trade and emerging technologies in strengthening economic ties between the two countries. He revealed that officials were updating bilateral information and communications technology agreements to reflect rapid technological advances — including industrial innovation, technology transfer, digital trade and artificial intelligence. “We are facilitating trade through enabling physical and digital infrastructure,” he said.
The forum highlighted growing commercial ties between the two countries. According to Ruto, more than 60 South African companies currently operate in Kenya across banking, telecommunications, manufacturing, infrastructure and retail. South African investments in Kenya exceed $2 billion, while Kenyan companies have invested approximately $283 million in South Africa.
Both leaders stressed that Africa’s future growth would depend on moving beyond traditional trade patterns toward integrated value chains, digital connectivity and innovation-driven industries. Ramaphosa said the relationship between the two countries had evolved from simply trading goods to jointly building industries and creating shared opportunities. “We have moved beyond what we can sell to each other and towards what we can build together with each other,” he said.
The two presidents called for greater collaboration between governments, investors and entrepreneurs — urging business leaders to convert discussions into tangible investments and partnerships that would accelerate Africa’s digital transformation and economic development.
