European Software Partner for Kenya Government
StepTo is a team of 15-20 engineers in Belgrade, Serbia, offering staff augmentation, dedicated teams and project work to Kenyan prime contractors, implementing agencies and donor-funded digital programmes.
Reviewed by Igor Gazivoda, Founder & CEO of StepTo · Updated
How Can a European Software Team Support Kenyan Public Digital Projects?
By supplying engineers to the organisations that already hold the contract. StepTo is a team of 15-20 engineers in Belgrade, Serbia that offers engineering capacity to Kenyan prime contractors, implementing agencies and donor-funded programmes as a subcontract partner. Engineers start 2-4 weeks after the first call, from $4,500 per developer per month, and Nairobi is only 1 to 2 hours ahead of Belgrade.
Kenya is putting public services online with large donor and development-bank support, and delivery capacity is the constraint on many programmes: more engineers, a second team for a specific system, or an independent pair of hands for a handover. This page sets out what is funded, how foreign firms can take part under Kenyan procurement rules, what the data rules mean for a remote team, and how StepTo engages.
For StepTo's general public-sector work, see government digital services. If you are looking at other African markets, see the page for governments and programmes across Africa. If you are writing a tender or request for proposal, the software RFP template can help, and for a system that has stalled, see software project takeover.
What Is Funding Kenya's Public Digital Programmes?
The largest named sources are the World Bank, with $390 million approved for the first phase of the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project, and the EU's Team Europe Initiative, with EUR 430 million of expected contributions. StepTo, a Belgrade engineering firm that offers engineers to Kenyan prime contractors and agencies, lists those funders' own announcements below.
| Programme | What was announced | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP) | $390 million of World Bank financing approved for phase one (2023-2028). Phase two (2026-2030) focuses on data-driven, secure digital service delivery. | World Bank, 5 April 2023 |
| National target for public services | Digitising 80% of public services under the national ICT Master Plan, the target cited in the same World Bank release. | World Bank, 5 April 2023 |
| Team Europe Initiative, Human Centred Digitalisation in Kenya | EUR 430 million of expected contributions. E-government partners named: Estonia, Germany and GovStack. | EU Global Gateway via UNICEF Kenya, 5 October 2023 |
| Last-mile digital connections | EUR 9.8 million grant for up to 1,300 schools across 47 counties, implemented through the GIGA programme of UNICEF and ITU. | EU Global Gateway via UNICEF Kenya, 5 October 2023 |
| Digitalisation of technical and vocational training | EUR 9.9 million of Team Europe support that leverages funds from German and French development finance institutions and the Government of Kenya. | EU Global Gateway via UNICEF Kenya, 5 October 2023 |
These are announced envelopes, not contracts open to StepTo, and amounts and scope change as programmes are implemented. Figures were checked on 2 November 2026. Check the funder's project page for the current position before you plan around a figure.
How Can a Foreign Software Firm Take Part in Kenyan Public Contracts?
Often through a local partner on Kenya's own budget, and directly on World Bank-financed contracts. The US Commercial Service reports an exclusive preference for Kenyan firms on smaller government-funded tenders and a subcontract or joint-venture requirement for foreign contractors in construction and infrastructure, while the World Bank's rules let eligible firms from any country compete on Bank-financed contracts. StepTo offers engineering capacity as a subcontract partner.
| Question | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Do Kenyan firms get a preference? | The US Commercial Service guide to Kenya says that for tenders funded entirely by the government and valued under Ksh 50 million (about $500,000) the preference for Kenyan firms and goods is exclusive, and that Kenya is not a signatory of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. |
| What must a foreign firm do? | The US Commercial Service guide to Kenya says foreign contractors on construction and infrastructure projects must subcontract or form a joint venture with an NCA-registered local firm for at least 30% of contract value. The guide does not say whether this applies to software services, so confirm it for each tender. |
| What about donor-funded projects? | The US Commercial Service guide to Kenya says that, unless a project is treated as government-to-government, foreign-funded projects are held to the World Bank procurement guidelines for competitive bidding. Each funder publishes its own eligibility rules in the tender documents. |
| Can a foreign firm bid directly on World Bank-financed contracts? | The World Bank Procurement Regulations for borrowers (seventh edition, September 2025) say the Bank permits eligible firms from all countries to offer goods, works and services for Bank-financed projects, and that it does not accept conditions requiring mandatory joint ventures. Whether a given contract is open to a firm depends on its procurement notice. |
| Where are tenders published? | On the Public Procurement Information Portal, tenders.go.ke. |
| Is the law changing? | Press reports say the President declined to sign the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and returned it to Parliament, including over how local and foreign firms are defined. Its final status was not confirmed when this page was written. |
Sources: US Commercial Service, Kenya Country Commercial Guide, public sector (last published 5 July 2024) and The Standard on the procurement amendment bill, and the World Bank Procurement Regulations, seventh edition. This is general information, not legal advice; your procurement counsel decides how a given tender applies.
What Do Kenya's Data Protection and Cloud Rules Mean for a Remote Engineering Team?
They decide where the system is hosted, and StepTo's Belgrade team works inside that environment rather than moving data out of it. A law-firm summary of the 2026 guidance from Kenya's data protection regulator (the ODPC) says storing personal data on cloud servers outside Kenya is a cross-border transfer, and that data processed for State strategic interests must be processed through a server and data centre in Kenya, or have at least one serving copy stored in one.
The Afriwise summary says contractual safeguards do not override a localisation requirement. The Kenya Cloud Policy 2025, in force since 2 May 2025 and aimed at central government, adds data localisation requirements based on how sensitive the data is.
For an engineering partner, the practical questions are where code and data live, who can reach them, and from where. StepTo engineers work in your repositories and your environment, so you set the hosting and the access rules. Whether remote access from Serbia counts as a cross-border transfer for a particular system is a question for your counsel, who should read the guidance itself. The summary is by Afriwise, and the cloud-policy dates are from the Digital Policy Alert tracker.
Which Engagement Model Fits a Kenyan Public Digital Project?
Staff augmentation suits a prime contractor that already has a tech lead. A dedicated team suits a system that needs its own unit. Project work suits a defined scope. In every case engineers start 2-4 weeks after the first call.
| Model | Starting price | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Staff augmentation | From $4,500 per developer per month | A Kenyan prime contractor or agency already has a tech lead and needs extra engineers inside its own sprints and repositories. See staff augmentation |
| Dedicated team | From $13,500 per month for a team of three | A programme needs one standing team to own a system, for example a citizen portal or a registry integration, under its own lead. See dedicated teams |
| Project work | From $9,000 | The scope is defined, for example a module, an integration or a rebuild, and a partner delivers it from start to finish. See pricing |
- Start: expect engineers in your team 2-4 weeks after the first call.
- Trial: the first two weeks are paid and run on real work, so you can judge output before the full term.
- Replacement: StepTo replaces an engineer for free if the fit is wrong in the first 30 days.
- Notice: 30 days' notice to end an engagement.
Full terms are on the pricing page.
How Does a Belgrade Team Work With a Nairobi-Based Client Day to Day?
Day to day, a StepTo engineer behaves like a remote colleague 1 to 2 hours behind you: shared working hours for most of the day, your tools and your review process, with English as the working language.
Most of a working day overlaps
Nairobi is on UTC+3 all year. Belgrade is on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, so Nairobi is 1 to 2 hours ahead and most of a working day is shared.
Your tools, your process
Engineers work in your repositories, ticket tracker and chat, and ship through your own review process. English is the working language for day-to-day work and documentation.
Paperwork before work
An NDA, a data processing agreement and IP assignment terms are in place before any work begins. Your own legal team should review them as it would for any supplier.
How Does an Engagement With StepTo Start?
An engagement with StepTo starts in four steps, whether you add individual engineers or a dedicated team.
Step 1
First call
A first call with StepTo about the roles, stack and seniority you need.
Step 2
Engineers join in 2-4 weeks
StepTo engineers join your team 2-4 weeks after the first call.
Step 3
Two-week paid trial
The first two weeks are a paid trial on real work, before you commit to the full term.
Step 4
Free replacement within 30 days
If an engineer is not the right fit within the first 30 days, StepTo replaces them at no extra cost.
StepTo staff augmentation starts from $4,500 per developer per month, with a 3-month minimum, weekly billing and a 30-day notice period to scale down; a dedicated team of three engineers starts from $13,500 per month, billed monthly. There is no recruitment fee; full terms are on the pricing page.
What Has StepTo Delivered in Audit-Driven and Long-Running Engagements?
StepTo's published case studies come from commercial clients in Europe. A Series B payments fintech in Lithuania passed its compliance recertification on schedule with zero critical findings, and a dedicated React team for a Series A SaaS startup in Germany cut time-to-feature from 3 weeks to 5 days.
B2B SaaS · Series A SaaS Startup, Germany
Dedicated React Team: Shipping in 5-Day Cycles
5 days
feature cycle · StepTo team: 4 React engineers + 1 tech lead · 18 months (ongoing)
- 14 features in their first quarter, up from 3 in the prior quarter
- Time-to-feature dropped from 3 weeks to 5 days
Fintech · Series B Payments Fintech, Lithuania
Fintech Payments Compliance Rebuild
18×
faster reconciliation · StepTo team: 4 engineers · 5 months
- recertification passed on schedule with zero critical findings
- reconciliation time cut 18× (from 3 days to under 4 hours)
- reconciliation discrepancies down 92%
Clients are not named. On request, StepTo can arrange a reference call with a past client, under NDA.
What Do Kenyan Buyers Ask About a European Software Partner?
Has StepTo worked on Kenyan or African government projects?
StepTo has no published Africa case studies, and its published work is for commercial clients in Europe. A reference call with a past client can be arranged on request, under NDA, and the first two weeks of any engagement are a paid trial on real work.
Can StepTo bid directly on Kenyan government tenders?
It depends on the funding and the tender. The US Commercial Service guide to Kenya reports an exclusive preference for Kenyan firms on government-funded tenders under Ksh 50 million, and a subcontract or joint-venture requirement for foreign contractors in construction and infrastructure. On World Bank-financed contracts, eligible firms from any country may compete under the Bank's rules. StepTo is a Serbian company, so it mainly offers engineering capacity to Kenyan prime contractors, implementing agencies and donor-funded programmes.
Where must the data of a Kenyan government system be hosted?
It depends on the classification of the data and on current rules, which your counsel must confirm. A law-firm summary of the 2026 guidance from Kenya's data protection regulator (the ODPC) says storing personal data on cloud servers outside Kenya is a cross-border transfer, and that data processed for State strategic interests must be kept on servers or in data centres in Kenya. The Kenya Cloud Policy 2025 also contains data localisation requirements based on data sensitivity. StepTo engineers work inside the environment you host, so hosting stays your decision.
Is StepTo eligible for EU-funded programmes in Kenya?
Serbia is not an EU member state, and it is not among the Team Europe contributors named in the Kenya digital initiative. Eligibility differs by funder and by tender, so read the rules in each tender document. One route is to work as a subcontractor to a prime contractor that is eligible.
What does it cost?
Staff augmentation is from $4,500 per developer per month, a dedicated team of three is from $13,500 per month, and fixed-scope project work is from $9,000. Rates run from $25 to $85 per hour depending on seniority. The pricing page lists everything.
How quickly can a StepTo team start?
Engineers join 2-4 weeks after the first call, and the first two weeks are a paid trial on real work before the full term begins.
What if an engineer is not the right fit?
StepTo replaces an engineer at no extra cost if the fit is wrong within the first 30 days.
Does Serbia have ties with Kenya?
According to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two countries have had diplomatic relations since 1963, and trade between them was EUR 7.4 million in 2025. That is a small volume, so this page does not claim an established commercial corridor. It offers engineering capacity for specific projects.
Which time zone does the team work in?
Belgrade is on Central European Time (UTC+1, or UTC+2 in summer). Nairobi is on UTC+3 all year, so it is 1 to 2 hours ahead of Belgrade and most of a working day overlaps.
Ready to Talk About Engineering Capacity for a Kenyan Digital Programme?
Tell StepTo the programme, the roles and the stack. The first call takes 15 minutes, and engineers can join 2-4 weeks later.
Related insights from the StepTo blog
- Who Actually Builds RAG Systems? A Buyer's Guide to Evaluating a RAG Development Partner
Most vendors selling a 'RAG system' have only built the easy part, a chat interface wrapped around a model call. A buyer's framework for what to ask before you sign anything.
- The Supply Chain Clause: How NIS2 Enforcement Turned Your Development Partner Into a Compliance Dependency
Enforcement trackers already record a NIS2 fine issued for missing supply chain controls. Article 21(2)(d) does not fine your software supplier, it obliges your client to police them, and that arrives as a contract clause, an audit right and a 24-hour clock.
- The Other DORA: Europe Just Turned Your Development Partner Into a Supervised Dependency
DORA's grace period ended in 2026. If you build software for a European financial entity, your contract and exit plan are now supervised artefacts.
Let's talk about your project
Tell us what you're building and we'll get back to you within one business day with a no-obligation assessment.
Office hours
Send us a message
StepTo's Belgrade team replies within one business day.
