Zoho’s Zia AI Tools Debut in Kenya, Signaling a Shift Toward Scalable Enterprise Automation
Behind Zoho’s Zia and Agent Studio is a broader strategy to redefine how small and mid-sized teams operate, starting with Kenya.
At this year’s Zoholics Kenya, Zoho didn’t just show off new tech. It drew a line in the sand. The company unveiled Zia LLM, its homegrown large language model, and introduced a suite of AI agents and workflow tools — all built to slot quietly into how real businesses work. Not disrupt. Not replace.
The announcements came against the backdrop of strong local momentum: Zoho’s revenue in Kenya grew 39% year-over-year in 2024. It’s a market the company is clearly betting on.
From Buzzwords to Usable AI
There’s no shortage of AI in enterprise software right now — most of it dressed in promises and jargon. Zoho’s approach lands differently. Zia LLM isn’t a one-size-fits-all model chasing benchmarks. It’s a set of three purpose-built models, scaled for context, not just power: 1.3B, 2.6B, and 7B parameters, each fine-tuned for structured data work, summarization, and code generation.
The real differentiator isn’t size, it’s control. The model runs on Zoho’s own servers. Customer data never leaves. And when the AI suggests something, users can adjust it visually — not by digging through layers of code.
“We’re not trying to remove the human,” said Veerakumar Natarajan, Zoho’s regional lead for East Africa. “We’re trying to make the AI helpful — a teammate, not a black box.”
Agents You Can Deploy, Not Just Demo
Zoho’s new Agent Studio is an attempt to make AI tangible. Users can build role-specific agents using simple prompts or low-code tools. Over 700 actions are available out of the box — from sending follow-ups in CRM to screening candidates or identifying upsell opportunities.
For businesses that just want to plug and play, there’s the Zia Agent Marketplace, where ready-made agents like Candidate Screener, Deal Analyzer, and Revenue Growth Specialist are already available.
Each agent respects existing permissions and can be deployed with a click — or embedded into rule-based workflows. Think less “future of work,” more “finally, something practical.”
Zoholics Kenya: The Crowd Behind the Code
While the AI features took center stage, Zoholics Kenya offered a broader look at how Zoho sees itself in this region — not just as a product vendor, but as a partner.
The one-day event gathered professionals from finance, tech, retail, and consulting. There were panels, product deep-dives, one-on-one consultations, and — a recurring theme — real businesses sharing how they use Zoho day-to-day to connect teams, serve customers, and stay lean.
Zoho’s local partners were present too. Mediacent Interactive demonstrated how it links its proprietary Payroll Master software with Zoho’s suite — a nod to Kenya’s unique compliance needs. Paystack showed off payment integrations for Zoho CRM and Books. Others, like Redian Software and Ika Three Sixty, offered tailored solutions built on top of Zoho’s tools for sectors like insurance, manufacturing, and professional services.
Why Kenya? Why Now?
Zoho’s growth in the country isn’t new, but it’s accelerating. Over the past three years, the company has seen a 25% CAGR locally. In 2024 alone, its workforce in Kenya grew by 72%. Its partner network, by 83%.
The most widely used tools? No surprise there — Zoho One, CRM, Zoho Desk, and Books continue to lead adoption across sectors from telecoms to real estate. But the AI push may signal the next phase.
Not Just Tools, a Strategy
This isn’t a race for headlines. Zoho’s AI stack isn’t trying to be the loudest or flashiest. It’s trying to work. And it’s doing that by focusing on real business needs: interoperability, context, local relevance, and predictable pricing.
By year’s end, Zia LLM will be more widely available. Agent Studio, Marketplace, and the MCP server are already live for early adopters. More features — including reasoning-focused models and agent-to-agent coordination — are on the roadmap.
The Takeaway
Zoho didn’t promise to change the world at Zoholics Kenya. What it promised was more useful: AI that’s understandable, customizable, and ready to deploy. In a market long underserved by global software players, that sort of practicality might be the most disruptive thing of all.
Go to TECHTRENDSKE.co.ke for more tech and business news from the African continent.
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