We throw around the word “innovative” every so often. So, if you’re an innovator yourself, you’ll like this one.
If your startup is working on something the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), the country’s telecoms regulator, doesn’t quite know how to regulate yet—such as AI applied to telecoms, 6G applications, Internet of Things (IoT), digital broadcasting, or spectrum management—there are open doors for you to “innovate” now.
The CAK has invited startups, technology firms, and researchers to apply for its regulatory sandbox for the 2026/27 financial year.
What’s a regulatory sandbox? It’s a supervised testing environment where companies can run products and services that don’t fit within existing rules, without being penalised for operating outside a framework that wasn’t built for them yet.
Think of it as the regulator saying: we don’t know exactly how to classify what you’re building, but we’d rather watch it work than ban it and miss out. Successful applicants test their solutions under CAK supervision before rolling out commercially. This helps to ensure that all sides are aligned on what constitutes infractions or negatively affects consumers so they can build guardrails early.
Kenya has been running regulatory sandboxes across financial services and capital markets for several years. Extending the model to ICT—specifically listing 6G, AI in communications, and cybersecurity as priority areas—reflects how fast the frontier is moving. The sandbox also signals that the regulator expects AI to soon have visible applications in critical sectors it oversees, such as telecoms, spectrum management, and cybersecurity, and it is bracing for impact.
The sandbox also specifically invites technologies aimed at improving digital accessibility for underserved communities, linking it directly to Kenya’s Universal Service Fund mandate. That’s worth noting: this isn’t only a commercial innovation track. It’s also a channel for companies building connectivity for the people that commercial deployment hasn’t reached yet. Applications are open now.
Source: Techcabal