By JAMES ANYANZWA

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Kenya has made significant progress in its digital transformation journey, but increasing cases of fraud threaten to slow down the momentum that has seen 29 million individuals adopt digital devices and services.

Survey results released last week show that 90 percent of Kenyans are worried about rising incidences of fraud in digital services. This has led to reduced usage of digital services in business by both the self-employed and business owners.

The survey dubbed, Kenya’s Digital Economy: A People’s Perspective 2021 shows that 30 percent of Kenyans have experienced digital fraud while 65 percent worry about their personal online safety and that of their families.

“Efforts to address digital safety concerns are becoming an increasingly important factor in supporting Kenyans’ embrace of digital services. Many Kenyans are concerned about digital fraud and online safety,” said the survey dated August. “However, only about half of Kenyans seek redress after experiencing fraud and even fewer change their online behaviour.”

The report shows that while Kenya is a continental leader in internet penetration, the country is still in its early stages of adoption of advanced digital services with just 27 percent of Kenyans using e-governance services or platforms, while 13 percent use e-commerce platforms to buy or sell goods and services.

“As Kenya progresses on its digital transformation journey, a critical next step will be to continue investments in enabling resources to deepen Kenyans’ engagement with e-commerce and the use of advanced digital services,” said the report. “Enabling resources such as mobile money, digital identity systems, national addressing systems, and asset registries play a substantial role in accelerating digital innovation and deepening the adoption of advanced digital services.”

According to the report, the use of digital services for business and livelihoods has considerable room for growth and deeper engagement beyond mobile money given that just 13 percent of Kenyans have used e-commerce platforms to buy or sell products and services. “Kenya has made some progress in achieving inclusive digital transformation but more needs to be done to ensure that all Kenyans benefit from digital access and usage,” said the report.

The survey, which was carried out by research and consulting firm Dalberg and funded by entrepreneur investment firm Omidyar Network sampled 2,456 Kenyan households.

It shows that the high cost of internet and smartphones has restricted more than six million Kenyans aged 15 years and above to basic digital services such as sending and receiving money, and buying airtime and data. Digital services refers to services accessed through the mobile phone, computer or Internet.

Smartphones access limitations

According to the report 22 percent of Kenyans are users of basic digital services mostly restricted to basic mobile money services while three percent being non-users of digital services.

The report notes that limitations in accessing smartphones are a major constraint for non-users and basic digital service users.

The survey shows that the Covid-19 crisis has prompted many Kenyans to accelerate their adoption of digital services (although not uniformly), while the government and private sector have also seized the opportunity to accelerate important digitisation policies and investments.

However, the vast majority (86 percent) of Kenyans are satisfied with their experience of using mobile phones, Internet, and digital services, while 74 percent feel the internet is important for meeting their day-to-day needs. Majority (84 percent) feel digital devices and services are making their lives better.