74% of businesses in the region rank cyber risks as a top priority, significantly above global averages
In partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy on Technology of the Republic of Kenya, the inaugural event takes place in Nairobi from 19–21 May
As cyber threats become more sophisticated and persistent, organisations across East Africa are placing cybersecurity at the centre of business strategy. According to PwC’s East Africa Digital Trust Insights survey, 74% of businesses in the region now rank cyber risks as a top priority, significantly above global averages, highlighting how cybersecurity has become a critical business imperative.
Against this backdrop, Nairobi will become the epicentre of East Africa’s evolving cybersecurity and AI economy as global cybersecurity giants, AI innovators, fintech pioneers, and cloud infrastructure leaders converge on the inaugural AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA next week to address the growing need for secure digital transformation across the continent.
Organised by inD, the global organiser of GITEX events, in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy on Technology of the Republic of Kenya, AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA will take place across two venues: a high-level Summit at the Sarit Expo Centre on 19 May, followed by a full-scale Expo and Conference at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) from 20–21 May. The event converges industry leaders, policymakers and security experts to explore how AI-powered cyber defence, threat intelligence and autonomous security systems can secure the region’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Cybersecurity becomes mission critical
As digital adoption gathers pace across East Africa, cybersecurity has become one of the region’s most urgent strategic priorities. Kaspersky is among the headline exhibitors at AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA 2026. The global cyber powerhouse will showcase AI-powered technologies that help organisations automate threat detection, improve incident response and strengthen resilience against emerging cyber risks.
Chris Norton, General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Kaspersky, said the company has embedded AI into its cybersecurity systems for more than 20 years. “Sub-Saharan Africa is an important strategic region for Kaspersky, and the company is working to solidify its regional posture by reaching out to new clients and partners,” said Norton. “One concrete example is the National Bank of Rwanda which Kaspersky empowers with advanced cybersecurity solutions and threat intelligence, ensuring their resilience against evolving cyber threats.”
Fortinet, a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security, will spotlight cybersecurity as a foundational layer of digital transformation. Imran Chaudhrey, Country Manager – East Africa at Fortinet, said the region is making bold moves toward AI-driven economic transformation through investment and regional collaboration initiatives and cybersecurity will play an important role.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer an experimental technology,” he said. “It is transforming industries and unlocking new opportunities across every sector, and cybersecurity must keep pace. At AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA, Fortinet will showcase how a platform approach to cybersecurity allows organisations to protect both their IT and OT infrastructures from increasingly widespread and sophisticated cyber-attacks.”
Kenyan cybersecurity and managed services company Magtech Solutions will highlight the growing role of local cybersecurity providers in safeguarding East Africa’s digital economy. Murithi Magiri, CEO of Magtech Solutions, said: “While AI accelerates innovation, it also accelerates cyber threats. At the event, we will highlight our solutions that help organisations stay ahead of that risk through cyber threat intelligence, 24/7 monitoring and incident response, giving organisations enterprise-grade security without the cost or complexity of building it themselves. In an AI-driven world, resilience is not optional.”
Cybersecurity company Elytis, together with CrowdStrike, will also showcase advanced AI-driven threat intelligence and cyber defence technologies aimed at helping organisations combat increasingly sophisticated attacks. Vincent Bourelly, Chief Operating Officer at Elytis, said: “Elytis, together with our vendor CrowdStrike, will exhibit advanced cybersecurity and AI-driven threat intelligence solutions. For East Africa, where digital transformation is accelerating across finance, government, and enterprise sectors, this is significant because it empowers organisations to protect critical infrastructure while embracing innovation with confidence.”
AI-powered cyber defence under the spotlight
Cybersecurity will take centre stage throughout the event programme with dedicated workshops, roundtables and expert panel discussions examining the future of AI-driven security. One of the headline sessions, the “AI Cyber Offense & Defense” roundtable, will bring together industry leaders to examine how AI is redefining offensive cyber operations. Discussions will focus on automated vulnerability discovery, adaptive attack simulations and how organisations can integrate AI into cybersecurity strategies while maintaining governance, trust and control.
On 21 May, the conference will also feature a high-level panel discussion titled “Autonomous Cyber Defence: Securing Systems That Think for Themselves,” exploring the rise of intelligent, self-adapting security systems capable of detecting, responding to and recovering from cyber threats in real time.
As governments and enterprises across East Africa accelerate investment into AI, fintech, digital public services and cloud infrastructure, AI EVERYTHING KENYA X GITEX KENYA is set to become a defining platform for the continent’s next era of secure digital growth.
More information is available at aieverythingkenya.com.
