A University of Nairobi campus. PHOTO | FILE
By JAMES KARIUKI, jkariuki@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged Sh100 million to support University of Nairobi’s (UoN) annual innovation fete.
Mr Kenyatta yesterday said the money will be factored in
next year’s budget, enabling the Nairobi Innovation Week to provide a
platform for startups to meet sponsors and equity partners with a view
to creating new industries that provide Kenyans with job opportunities
and wealth for the country.
Nairobi Innovation Week gives innovators of
various items and digital software applications a platform to showcase
their creations and get funding.
Speaking at UoN’s Taifa Hall after touring the
exhibition booths yesterday, the head of state said government
ministries and the private sector must engage the academia in seeking
solutions for their various challenges thereby creating a link that
could see viable innovative products by students commercialised.
“Even my own ministries go abroad to seek solutions
for various problems and what they buy are Kenyan innovations packaged
abroad. This habit of buying abroad must come to an end and our own
innovators given a chance to sell their ideas and goods,” he said.
Solve problems
He also challenged other universities across the
country to encourage students to come up with ideas and gadgets that
solve problems or reduce costs, saying Kenya could only prosper if its
own people create things that could be commercialised and exported.
“Even the first world countries grew out of
innovations which have seen them enjoy patronage from other nations at a
fee. Kenya is known for various innovations that have received global
acclaim and it is up to the private sector to create an avenue where
viable startups can get risk capital to scale up,” he said.
Prof Peter Mbithi, UoN’s Vice Chancellor, said the
university was focused on creating a commercial link between student’s
startups and industry as a way of solving various problems experienced
by Kenyans.
He said UoN had an active innovation ecosystem
where students and private individuals could be assisted to prepare
their ideas and gadgets for up-scaling.
Private sector players from across East Africa had a chance to meet the innovators and discuss matters business.
Private sector players from across East Africa had a chance to meet the innovators and discuss matters business.
“The university’s role is to accelerate development
via our own innovations that create new industries for services and
goods on demand,” he said.
Among items on display were active software
applications created by students for running computerised production
facilities as well as security gadgets.
Some students also created a GSM phone signal and an LPG gas leakage detector, among others.
jkariuki@ke.nationmedia.com
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