The government is using technology and innovation to create jobs and tackle the unemployment challenge in the country, President William Ruto has said.
He said not only will innovation scale up investments, but also position Kenya as a global innovation hub, while supporting start-up businesses and empowering the youth.
He added that the goal is to create sustainable enterprises that will generate job opportunities.
“Kenya is now a leading destination for global venture capital. It is important that we harness opportunities as part of our plan of making sure that we create adequate high-quality jobs for the young people of our nation,” he said during the launch of the 4th Kenya Innovation Week in Nairobi.
The President directed that the Kenya National Innovation Agency be moved from the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports to the Office of the President, noting that placing the agency at a central place will ensure effective leverage across the government.
He also declared the establishment of a Sh1 billion Start Up Fund and pledged to propose to Parliament an allocation of Sh500 million for the Kenya National Innovation Agency.
He explained that more funding for the agency will provide the necessary resources to de-risk venture capital coming to Kenya, enabling more ideas to get commercialised.
“At the moment, we are unable to move many ideas into commercialisation because of the limited resources available,” he said.
The President emphasised the need to actualise ideas into practical solutions, and thus address challenges in key sectors such as health, agriculture and security.
He noted the government’s commitment to supporting the Kenya National Innovation Agency.
“When I came into office in 2022, the Kenya National Agency had an annual budget of Sh18 million. In our second year, we moved it to Sh120 million. This year, the government has supported the agency with Sh200 million,” he said.
The President pointed out that in the past year, Kenya has made remarkable progress in implementing the 10-Year Innovation Masterplan.
He said initiatives like the Research-to-Commercialisation Accelerator have supported 18 enterprises and raised over Sh100 million, while the Kenya Network of Entrepreneurial Institutions has empowered university leaders to drive entrepreneurial transformation.
“These are remarkable milestones which highlight the strength of our innovation ecosystem in delivering tangible results,” he said.
President Ruto expressed Kenya’s commitment to pan-African and international collaboration through initiatives like the Kenya-India Innovation Nexus and the Africa Innovation Agencies Network, aimed at unlocking markets and deploying transformative African solutions.
The President called on all stakeholders – government, the private sector, higher education and development partners – to remain steadfast in collaboration and intensify efforts to promote innovation.
“Together, we can build an innovation ecosystem that positions Kenya as a leader in job creation, investment attraction and sustainable growth,” he said.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Kenya National Innovation Agency CEO Tonny Omwansa were present.
Mr Murkomen challenged the youth to take advantage of online opportunities to uplift their lives instead of using social media to spread hate.
Governor Sakaja called on the country’s innovators and other stakeholders to focus on turning ideas into practical solutions by experimenting and refining them until they succeed.
“We must move these ideas into production and fix the wings as we fly,” he said.
Mr Omwansa said the Kenya National Innovation Agency is keen on addressing the mismatch of skills among the youth who find it difficult to access jobs.
He cited this as an opportunity to equip the youth with the relevant skills to make them market-ready.
