New Report Outlines Strategy to Compete with China’s Digital Silk Road in Kenya

Washington, July 22, 2025 – Today, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released a new report, Countering the Digital Silk Road: Kenya, by Vivek Chilukuri and Ruby Scanlon. The Digital Silk Road (DSR) is China’s initiative to shape critical digital infrastructure around the world to advance its geopolitical interests and technology leadership. As the DSR marks its 10th anniversary, the CNAS Technology and National Security Program has undertaken a major research project to assess its impact and explore how the United States and its allies can offer a more compelling and coherent alternative. The project includes four in-depth case studies of strategically critical nations—Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia—and will culminate in a full-length report this fall.

The third case study focuses on Kenya. With its growing digital economy, expanding tech sector, and relative macroeconomic stability, Kenya’s “Silicon Savannah” has attracted investment and diplomatic interest from both the United States and China. So far, Chinese firms have built much of the country’s physical digital infrastructure, from telecom networks to smart cities, while U.S. companies lead in cloud services, software, and AI. As Kenya rolls out a national cloud policy and looks to modernize its telecom networks, the United States has a critical window to deepen its bilateral tech partnership with this strategically vital East African partner.

To that end, the new report outlines several recommendations for U.S. policymakers and industry leaders:

• Strengthen commercial diplomacy with a focus on technology;
• Seize the short-term opportunity presented by Kenya’s public-sector cloud migration;
• Surge partnership for Kenya’s Digital Superhighway initiative;
• Prepare for Kenya’s telecom infrastructure modernization;
• Expand models like the Microsoft-G42 partnership to strengthen U.S. technology offerings in Kenya;
• Pilot a network of “Silicon Savannah Incubators” to support tech entrepreneurs and startups;
• Scale support for market-driven ICT skilling;
• Support Kenyan cybersecurity; and
• Promote transparency in dealmaking through enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and support for Kenyan procurement reform.

The full report can be read here.

For more information or to arrange an interview with the report’s authors, please contact Charles Horn at [email protected].