(NAIROBI, KENYA) – The Data Management Association (DAMA) Kenya Chapter has launched in Nairobi, creating a national body for data professionals and setting a target to train more than 10,000 practitioners over the next three years.
The training programme will run through a partnership with Pathways International, the association said at its launch event. DAMA Kenya is an affiliate of DAMA International, the global professional association for data management.
The chapter brings together data professionals, technology leaders, business executives, academics, regulators, government institutions and organisations that rely on high quality data for decisions and services. It aims to set professional standards, develop talent, enable knowledge exchange, promote certification, support research and help organisations get lasting value from trusted data.
DAMA Kenya executive president Hartnell Ndungi said the association wants Kenya to become a global leader in responsible, trusted and value driven data management. He said data is increasingly one of the most important assets of modern organisations and economies.
“DAMA Kenya is particularly relevant to Kenya because the country’s economy is increasingly dependent on digital information. All sectors are generating and consuming unprecedented volumes of data,” Ndungi said.
He said the chapter would connect Kenyan data professionals to globally recognised data management standards while building a community that addresses Kenya’s specific data challenges.
Emmanuel Maiyo, deputy Data Commissioner at the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), said the difficulty is no longer getting data but making sure it is trusted, governed, secure, accessible, interoperable, understood and used responsibly. He said DAMA Kenya offers a professional home for the people responsible for meeting that challenge.
Maiyo said the government welcomes the launch and noted the growing importance of professional data management in the age of artificial intelligence.
“As ODPC, we welcome initiatives that build professional capacity and foster a culture of privacy,” he said. “DAMA strengthens the very foundation upon which effective privacy and data protection programmes are built.”
The chapter gives Kenyan practitioners local professional communities where they can access internationally recognised certificates, take part in professional development, share practical experience and carry out research.
DAMA Kenya has enrolled more than 900 members and 15 corporate partners, with plans to train more than 10,000 data professionals within three years.
“The objective is to move the profession from fragmented job titles and individual practices toward recognised professional standards and competencies,” Ndungi said.
He said the certification pathway lets professionals show structured knowledge of data management rather than relying only on job experience.