The Equity Group Foundation (EGF) and iamtheCODE have partnered to train 600,000 young people across Africa in artificial intelligence (AI), coding, and other digital skills.

• This initiative offers free access to 65,000 online courses, mentorship programs, and certification, primarily targeting women, girls, and underserved youth.
• Dr. James Mwangi, Executive Chairman of Equity Group Foundation, emphasized equipping youth with future skills like AI, coding, and data analytics to thrive in a technology-driven world.
• Participants will also gain soft skills, and Equity Group will provide loans for tools, internships, and startup support, linking graduates to its network of 23 million customers.

Mastercard held its first “Africa Edge” summit in Nairobi, demonstrating new payment technologies and outlining plans to tap into Africa's projected $1.5 trillion digital economy by 2030. The summit addressed key challenges including expanding low-cost payment acceptance for small businesses, improving interoperability, and enhancing security.

• Mastercard launched Merchant Cloud, a unified backend platform for businesses, and demonstrated Agent Pay, a first-of-its-kind transaction in the EEMEA region.
• Division president for Africa, Mark Elliott, reiterated Mastercard's "long-term commitment" to the continent.
• The event emphasized the critical need for immediate-day settlement for small businesses and discussed connecting Africa's dominant mobile money ecosystems, such as M-PESA, to global payment rails.

A recent study by Zoho, titled "The AI Privacy Equation: Youthful Innovation Meets Privacy Leadership in Kenya", reveals that Kenya is a leader in youth-driven, privacy-conscious AI adoption. The study, conducted by Arion Research, surveyed 360 Kenyan business professionals.

• 96% of Kenyan organizations have adopted AI—the highest adoption rate in Africa.
• 82% of organizations have strengthened privacy measures since implementing AI, the highest privacy improvement rate in Africa.
• The Kenya Data Protection Act has driven a 64% increase in regulatory awareness.
• Top AI application areas are customer service (55%), software development (51%), and marketing optimization (36%).
• Michael Fauscette, CEO & Chief Analyst at Arion Research LLC, states that Kenya's approach proves privacy protection and rapid innovation are mutually reinforcing.