African countries need trusted systems that allow skills, qualifications and work experience to move across borders, Kenyan President William Ruto has said, as Kenya takes the lead in implementing the digital skills mobility, or Masterkey, corridor under the Accra Reset.
Speaking in New York on September 22, 2026, during the Accra Reset’s Full Circle gathering, President Ruto said: ‘Kenya is honoured to lead the digital skills mobility or Masterkey corridor under the Accra Reset. Today we take Masterkey from design into delivery with Kenya leading its first national implementation,’ he said.
The Accra Reset Presidential Council describes Masterkey as an initiative that seeks to remove barriers preventing talent from moving to where it is most needed. President Ruto said the initiative would provide digital infrastructure for people to securely hold and share verified records of skills, qualifications and work experience across borders.
‘The principle is simple. Talent should be portable. Skills should be trusted and opportunity should cross borders,’ he said.
He said qualifications issued in one African country should be verifiable in another, allowing workers to compete using trusted evidence.
‘A qualification or work record issued in Nairobi should be verified in Kigali and ultimately wherever opportunity exists,’ he said.
He said privacy and cyber security must be protected, with records coming from authorised institutions. Citizens should control access to their records and correct errors, while workers should also be protected against fraud, exploitation and discrimination.
‘Workers must also be protected against fraud, exploitation and discrimination,’ he said.
President Ruto clarified that Masterkey would not itself award jobs, visas or professional recognition, as those decisions would remain with employers and competent authorities.
‘Its purpose is to provide trusted evidence that allows those decisions to be made on credible information,’ he said.
He linked the initiative to Africa’s wider technological ambitions, including access to computing power, trusted data, reliable energy and research capability.
‘No country will build every layer alone,’ he said, calling for cooperation among governments, companies and institutions.
He said Africa should also play a greater role in technology development and governance.
‘Africans are not merely consumers of technology. We are workers, researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators and creators whose talent, data and ideas contribute to the global technology economy,’ he said.
A French Government representative thanked those guiding the process and called for continued cooperation.
The New York gathering marked one year since the Accra Reset was launched on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
President Ruto said Masterkey’s practical test would be whether records issued in one country were recognised in another and created opportunities for African citizens.
‘If we can answer those questions with evidence, we will have moved from dialogue to delivery,’ he said.