Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues

Various Chinese technology firms, state-owned or private, with or without the Chinese state’s support, participate in African digital transformation to initiate infrastructure projects and provide various digital services. Kenya, as one of the longstanding leading countries in digital transformation across sub-Saharan Africa, is at the heart of this interaction, attracting various Chinese firms seeking to expand their businesses. However, extensive studies focus on the holistic impacts of Chinese deepening involvement in Africa. They have gradually affirmed Chinese dominance in African digital transformation, which warrants further concerns of Chinese neocolonialism and hegemony. This study aims to scrutinize this Chinese dominance through exploring the grounded practices of Chinese firms involving intricate adaptations and building of long-lasting presence in Kenya. 

This study draws on two company cases in Kenya with different scales and involve in diverse aspects of digital transformation. Thus, it expands on existing knowledge the involvement of Chinese firms that has focused predominantly on large-scale Chinese technology giants.

It sheds light on nuances in Chinese involvement in Kenya’s digital transformation to incrementally establish Chinese presence through detailed analyzing the operations of different Chinese technology companies that represent varied scenarios of embeddedness in Kenya’s digital transformation and business scales. This study reveals the tangible and flexible operations of the two Chinese technology companies in their specific local contexts that are mainly created by the Kenyan government and urban communities respectively. Contrary to the notion of Chinese dominance, these firms view themselves not as imposing their businesses, but as adapting to and shaped by local demands and constraints. Additionally, this study elaborates on how Chinese firms gradually cultivate various ‘lock-ins’, which reflects the incremental and sometimes contested nature of their efforts to build Chinese presence and influence in Kenya’s digital transformation.

Yabo Wu is a Ph.D. candidate at Maastricht University in the Globalization, Transnationalism and Development research group. Her current research investigates the multifaceted activities of the Chinese state and diverse Chinese firms in Kenya.