Kenya is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

It is reported that foreign firms have had very limited success bidding on Kenyan Government tenders. There are widespread reports that corruption often influences the outcome of public tenders, and many of these tenders are challenged in the courts. Foreign firms, some without proven track records, have won government contracts when partnered with well-connected Kenyan firms or individuals. As of January 2019, all tenders and procurements are required to be undertaken through the Kenyan Government’s electronic procurement system, the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). Certain foreign companies have expressed concerns about IFMIS due to insufficient connectivity and technical capacity in county government offices, apathy from county government officials, central control shutdowns, and security gaps that render the system vulnerable to manipulation and hacking.

Where the procuring entity seeks to contract with non-Kenyan firms or procure foreign goods, the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act requires a report detailing evidence of an inability to procure locally (Section 155 (5)). On the other hand, for the purpose of ensuring sustainable promotion of local industry, a procuring entity must have in its tender documents a mandatory requirement as preliminary evaluation criteria for all foreign tenderers participating in international tenders to source at least 40% of their supplies from citizen contractors prior to submitting a tender (Section 157 (9)). Notably, since 2015, an initiative dubbed “Buy Kenyan Build Kenya” has required Kenyan state ministries, departments, and agencies to procure at least 40% of their supplies locally. Furthermore, the Act calls for at least 30% of government procurement contracts to go to firms owned by women, youth, and persons with disabilities (Section 157 (10)).
Implementing regulations issued by the National Treasury mandate that tender proposals include skills and knowledge transfer to Kenyan citizens, a 75% set aside of employment opportunities for Kenyans, and a local content plan (Regulation 144).

According to Section 157 (8) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, exclusive preferences is given to citizens of Kenya where the funding is 100% from the national government, county government or a Kenyan body, and the amounts are below the prescribed threshold. The prescribed threshold for exclusive preference should be above five hundred million shillings (approx. USD 3,600,000)

According to The National Information Communication and Technology Policy Guidelines of 2020, Kenyan built ICT solutions are preferred over any other solution in the award of public tenders. Where there are no local Kenyan businesses that meet tender requirements, the successful tenderer must provide adequate proof that they will implement a skills transfer program to local firms and personnel as part of the tender award process. Foreign companies have until August 2023 to adhere to this requirement.

Kenya is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Ghana has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

Ghana has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

The Electronic Transactions Act 2008 provides a comprehensive consumer protection framework that applies to online transactions.

Ghana has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

According to the guidelines for registering domains under the GH2-DOM, for the registration of a ".gh" domain name, the domain administrator must be located in Ghana and the company of the domain administrator should have been registered in Ghana. In addition, domain names registered under the top-level .gh domains should be active within six months after registration

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 100, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). However, it is also reported that there is an informal agreement that allows goods whose value does not exceed USD 200 to be exempted.

The law prohibits the sale or provision of encryption or authentication services unless it is compliant with the country’s 2008 Electronic Transactions Act. The National Information Technology Agency is charged with certifying and issuing licenses for encryption and authentication services. Law enforcement officers are also entitled to require access to decryption information and “the reasonable technical and other assistance required for investigation or prosecution”.

When telecom equipment dealers import ICT devices into the country, they are required to declare the details of the shipment to the National Communications Authority (NCA) through Customs’ system. The NCA subsequently conducts physical inspection at the ports of entry to ensure that the devices are Type Approved. The NCA has designed NCA Approval Testing Labs for testing. The testing laboratory consists of a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Electromagnetic Field (EMF) measurements, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and Radio Frequency and Signalling (RF & Sig) Laboratories.