GovStack in action: Two more public services in Kenya go digital
A successfully completed project in Kenya has become the first time an Estonian company has used the GovStack framework to set up government e-services that work in practice.
Throughout 2025, Estonian company ADM Interactive collaborated with Kenyan partners to bring two public services online using GovStack. One is the loan application process for the UWEZO Fund, which provides youth and women access to grants, interest-free loans and mentorship opportunities; the other is the application system for Nairobi County’s vocational education centres.
ESTDEV managed the development of the e-services as part of the Team Europe human-centred digitalisation initiative. The necessary analysis and initial designs of the e-services were done by Trinidad Wiseman, and development was completed by ADM Interactive in collaboration with stakeholders from both the UWEZO Fund and Nairobi County.
“Seeing these services go live shows what is possible when partners stay focused on solving real problems for real people. GovStack gave us a solid foundation, but it was the shared commitment across teams in Kenya and Estonia that turned the vision into practical tools citizens can use right now,” said Marika Popp, GovStack’s project lead for Estonia.
ADM employed GovStack principles to develop Kenya’s digital birth registration but was unable to use GovStack modules for that e-service, as it had to be built on top of an existing legacy system. However, neither UWEZO nor Nairobi County had a digital system in place for loan or school applications. This may have represented an initial stumbling block, but it turned out to be an exciting opportunity. ADM built these e-services from scratch using opensource code and GovStack principles, making it the first time an Estonian company has employed the system long championed by Estonia.
Improving the application experience for students in Nairobi County’s vocational education system
Prior to digitising the application system, any student looking to begin the admissions process at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centre in Nairobi County faced several challenges. First, students had to visit a training centre to apply in-person and applications had to be submitted during official office hours. Administrators could only check application statuses while in the office, meaning there was no real-time overview for course registrations. In order to confirm payments, they also had to rely on bank statements.
Paul Kiiru, Nairobi County’s Deputy Director of e-Government, said that improved access to accurate, real-time data will allow for better planning and resource allocation. “By consolidating all applicant information, it will eliminate data silos thus improving data consistency. This will lead to better forecasting on future enrolment with effective resource allocation which can lead to targeted recruitment strategies,” he explained.
In addition to saving time and improving data management, a digital admissions process will also improve access to vocational education for marginalised groups, such as women and disabled individuals.
“It will remove geographical barriers as one does not need to visit the institution to apply while giving access to information through an individual’s mobile device on a 24/7 basis. It also helps standardise the process by eliminating unconscious bias that may arise from a manual process,” added Kiiru.
The digitalisation of TVET admissions is only one part of the vocational education system in Nairobi County; additional components will require further developments to put everything online. Kiiru went on to say that “The Nairobi City County appreciates the engagement and the process that has been undertaken to develop a system that will make it easy for the trainees apply for their desired courses offered by the County TVETs. Following our engagements, it was noted that although this does address the trainee onboarding process, the TVETs management still operates manually leading to a lot of limitations.”
This is where GovStack has the potential to further revolutionise e-service development. “Our counterparts in Kenya can take the solution and work with it to develop it further. By using GovStack principles, it’s easier to extend the system with other components in the future,” said Riho Pihelpuu, the CEO of ADM Interactive.
Removing roadblocks in the UWEZO Fund’s loan application process
One of the primary goals of digitising the UWEZO Fund’s loan application process is to cut down on the turnaround time. Typically, the process takes over a month. By using the e-service, they aim to reduce processing time to seven days.
Of course, this is not the only benefit of digitising the process. Applicants will not have to travel to a physical location in order to submit a loan application, which lowers the barrier to access funds, especially individuals with mobility issues or those faced with logistical challenges for travelling.
“The co-creation of the solutions enriched our technical expertise, which will be useful for expanding these digital solutions. We also gained exposure and insights into the Estonian experience and ‘human centric’ digitalisation where the user lens and experience are prioritised. This process challenged us into transformative thinking,” said Gedion Njoroge, UWEZO Fund’s IT manager.
How GovStack made it possible
GovStack was set up as a framework with the aim of helping governments build future-proof digital services using the building block approach. Governments can combine different interoperable, reusable, modular components, such as digital identity, data exchange, registries, and payments to develop services to serve the needs of their citizens.
GovStack was the key achieving the implementation of both solutions. “The goal was to launch a service so that these organisations can start using one digital service, and then they can start adding additional blocks on their own or with partners from the GovStack marketplace,” said Pihelpuu.
“We thought the budget might not be sufficient for two services, but thanks to GovStack principles, we were able to adapt the Nairobi County TVET registration service to the UWEZO Fund. They seem totally different, but the IT system and building blocks underneath are the same. As they didn’t have a base foundation or legacy system, we used this minimal viable foundation and opensource technology, so they can start using GovStack building blocks in the future,” he added.
One step on the road to a digital society
These e-services represent progress on the path to a digital society, but true digitalisation refers to the development of both digital tools and the digital skills needed to use the tools. Training users, service providers and decision-makers is essential to the sustainable success of any type of digital development.
Kenya is a young country, with about 75% of the population under the age of 35. They are eager to adopt digital innovations. Ensuring this demographic can use and continue to develop Kenya’s public e-services is why ESTDEV has also partnered with //kood to open a Nairobi cohort for their innovative coding school and HK Unicorn Squad and Mondo to encourage girls to pursue careers in STEAM. Digitalisation efforts depend on the youth of today acquiring the digital skills needed to maintain, expand and improve these systems in the future.
This e-services development project was undertaken within the framework of a € 2.4 million digital development project in Kenya, aimed at supporting the country’s digitalisation and the creation of a transparent, efficient digital society. ESTDEV manages the project as part of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Human-Centred Digitalisation. GIZ supports implementation through the Digital Transformation Center (DTC), and Germany and the European Union have provided financing.
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