Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy John Tanui said connected mobility systems would be central to improving vehicle safety, monitoring battery health, optimising charging, reducing operating costs and improving fleet performance.

Speaking at the TLT Connected B2B Summit on Smart Mobility, Telematics and IoT in Nairobi, Tanui said Kenya’s transition to electric mobility must be supported by digital systems capable of generating and analysing real-time information.

The push comes as electric mobility begins moving beyond pilot projects into commercial use.

According to the latest data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), electricity consumption under the e-mobility tariff tripled from 1.26 gigawatt-hours in the financial year ended June 2024 to 5.04 GWh in June 2025.

The number of customers billed under the tariff had reached 69, while the country had 6,442 registered electric vehicles and an estimated 300 charging points.

Although e-mobility still represents a tiny fraction of national electricity demand, the pace of growth is significant.

Kenya generated 14,472 GWh of electricity in the year to June 2025, with about 80 percent coming from renewable sources, giving electric transport an opportunity to progressively substitute imported petroleum with domestically generated electricity.

The economic case is equally compelling.

Transport and storage remains one of the country's most important productive sectors. 

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says the sector generated Sh3.48 trillion in output in 2024, with road transport accounting for 75.1 per cent.

 The sector grew by 3.7 per cent in 2025, underlining the importance of improving efficiency across the movement of people and goods.

This is where telematics could have an impact well beyond electric vehicles.

By combining GPS, Internet of Things sensors, artificial intelligence and cloud platforms, fleet operators can monitor fuel consumption, driver behaviour, vehicle utilisation, maintenance requirements and delivery routes in real time.

Instead of repairing vehicles after breakdowns, businesses can anticipate maintenance needs, reduce downtime and keep productive assets on the road.

The technology could also help tackle Kenya's costly road-safety problem. 

The Kenya National Buruea of Statistics (KNBS) recorded 11,638 road traffic accidents in 2025, resulting in 24,905 casualties and 5,009 deaths.

The NTSA has estimated that road crashes cost the economy about Sh1.5 trillion annually, equivalent to roughly eight percent of GDP.

Telematics can help identify speeding, harsh braking, rapid acceleration and other risky driving patterns, allowing fleet managers to intervene before accidents occur.

The technology is also becoming increasingly relevant to the livelihoods of small transport operators. 

M-KOPA says it has financed more than 5,000 electric motorcycles in Kenya. 

Its impact data shows riders save an average Sh730 a day through lower fuel and repair costs, while 66 per cent report higher earnings after switching to electric motorcycles.

For a country heavily exposed to imported fuel prices, such efficiency gains have wider economic implications. 

Kenya imported 5.5 million tonnes of petroleum products in 2025, an increase of 12.2 per cent from the previous year.

Tanui therefore stressed that charging and battery-swapping infrastructure must move beyond major cities into highways, logistics corridors, counties and commercial centres.

But scaling telematics will require more than hardware.

Connected vehicles generate sensitive information on locations, journeys, drivers and vehicle use.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has specifically warned that transport-sector location and trip data must be handled securely and lawfully, with certain public-transport data subject to localisation requirements.

Kenya's expanding digital infrastructure provides an important foundation. 

The government says its Digital Superhighway programme is rolling out 100,000 kilometres of fibre infrastructure, connecting more than 53,000 institutions and establishing 1,450 digital hubs.

The government is also implementing its Cloud Policy and advancing its AI Strategy, creating a policy environment for secure data processing and greater use of intelligent digital systems.