Akili AI, a UK and Nairobi-based artificial intelligence company, has launched Akili Snapshot and Akili Assured. These represent the first dedicated AI readiness and governance tools engineered specifically for enterprises across Kenya and the wider African continent.
According to Akili AI’s pre-launch assessments, the vast majority of African enterprises that self-report zero AI deployment actually show significant, unmanaged Shadow AI exposure when evaluated independently.
This exposure introduces severe legal liabilities under the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019 and regulations enforced by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
The banking sector perfectly illustrates this governance deficit: while 80% of senior financial services executives believe AI will fundamentally transform their industry, fewer than 20% of their organizations possess a well-developed plan to manage it.
“In Kenya, informal AI use is rampant in business but it’s often unrecognized and unmanaged, exposing businesses to risk,” warns Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of Akili AI. “Snapshot is the practical first step in building responsible AI controls—free, anonymous, and available to any organization… If you have been delaying your AI adoption because you don’t know where you stand on AI readiness, now is the time to find out.”
Available immediately at akili-ai.com, Akili Snapshot is a structured online assessment designed to benchmark an organization’s AI maturity in under fifteen minutes. The tool evaluates companies across five core governance pillars:
- Shadow AI exposure
- Corporate usage policies
- Staff training protocols
- Accountability structures
- Active risk management
The service is structured into three progressive tiers to accommodate different organizational needs:
- Tier 1 — Free AI Maturity Score: Organizations can complete the assessment completely anonymously to receive an immediate maturity score and industry benchmark. No account creation or email address is required.
- Tier 2 — Free Full Governance Report: By providing an email address, users receive a comprehensive, AI-generated governance report featuring prioritized recommendations tailored to their specific sector, size, and risk profile.
- Tier 3 — Free Detailed Governance and Opportunity Review: A deeper diagnostic questionnaire delivered alongside direct advisory engagement from the Akili AI team, serving as a practical bridge toward implementing a formal corporate AI program.
For organizations requiring more than a diagnostic check, Akili AI has introduced Akili Assured, a comprehensive, managed compliance service. The platform converts the vulnerabilities flagged by the Snapshot tool into a sustained, boardroom-ready compliance framework.
Akili Assured delivers an end-to-end suite of corporate governance infrastructure, including formal AI ethics and usage policies, application audit frameworks, risk registers, incident management procedures, and oversight committee structures. This is paired with an automated compliance calendar and monthly briefings for executive leadership.
To eliminate the need for enterprises to hire hyper-specialized, costly personnel, Akili Assured features Zaffi, an automated AI oversight assistant. Zaffi handles the administrative weight of corporate governance by automatically orchestrating compliance calendars, sending critical reminders, distributing committee agendas, collating minutes, and maintaining an unalterable, secure audit trail. This documented evidence layer is increasingly crucial as boards, external auditors, and African regulators formalize AI oversight requirements.
The service is fully scalable, built to support everything from a 10-person SME to a heavily regulated 5,000-person enterprise.
Crucially, Akili AI emphasizes that robust governance is not about restriction—it is the ultimate enabler of commercial ambition.