Industrialization Principal Secretary Dr Juma Mukhawana has pledged to meet industry players to revise Kenya’s labour laws to address gaps hampering job creation in the growing digital economy.

Dr Mukhwana said linking with Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms will expand digital jobs in line with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

The Principal Secretary in the State Department for Industrialization was speaking when he visited Sama, a BPO providing data annotation solutions that power AI models of the future.

He admitted that current labour laws, which were enacted in 2007, are obsolete and the government will work with the private sector to align them to new digital economy realities.

“To fully harness Kenya's potential, the Government acknowledges the need to identify and address challenges that currently inhibit the creation of jobs within the digital sector,” said Dr Mukhawana.

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He added, “The plan is to work with the industry to create an enabling environment for businesses operating in the digital economy.”

Kenya has in recent years continued to attract global tech giants amid concerns over the limiting nature of the country’s labour laws to the realization of the sector’s full potential.

The global BPO market is estimated to be worth more than USD 262 billion and countries in Africa are emerging as the next frontiers of rapid growth for BPOs across the world.

BPOs also continue to play a critical role in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that in turn power the automotive, retail, agricultural and food technology sectors.

Sama Director of Global Service Delivery Lilian Kiplang'at lauded the collaboration between the government and the BPO sector will push Kenya to become a global digital powerhouse.

“At Sama, with the right operating environment, we have the potential to create thousands of jobs by 2024,” said Kiplang'at.

She added, “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the Government to develop clear and progressive policies that foster a conducive business environment for the digital economy to ensure it remains competitive on a global scale.”

Sama, which has been in Kenya for 15 years, provides formal jobs through value chain AI solutions for self-driving cars, virtual reality gaming consoles, fashion segmentation and agricultural solutions for crop disease protection.