President William Ruto has lauded efforts to promote innovation and startups, emphasizing their importance and role in jib creation for a bludgeoning youth population.
Addressing the Nation at the Fourth Kenya Innovation Week in Nairobi, the president reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to becoming a global innovation hub.
Noting that this year’s Kenya Innovation Week has drawn delegates from over 30 countries, a testament to the broad appeal and impact of past editions.
Throughout this week, participants will engage in 25 summits, workshops, and boot camps where dynamic interactions, collaborations, and exchanges will interrogate old ideas.
These ideas have the potential to evolve into startups, scale into major firms, generate value, create jobs, and build wealth.
“Let us, therefore, pay close attention to the more than 150 exhibitors and startups as they showcase groundbreaking innovations and endeavour to attract local and global investors,” encouraged the President.
Every day, we must confront the stark fact that unemployment remains a pressing issue in Kenya and many African countries, said Dr Ruto adding that the shape of the crisis is undeniable here.
With between 500,000 and 800,000 youth entering Kenya’s job market annually, creating sustainable enterprises which can generate quality jobs is a critical imperative. Innovation can no longer be a discretionary consideration; rather, it is now an indispensable component of efforts to promote inclusive growth and uplift the well-being of the majority of our people.
“It is through initiatives like the Silicon Savannah and Kenya Innovation Week that we refocus our dedication to leveraging technology and innovation to create opportunities, bridge the yawning gap of economic inequality and drive our nations to prosperity,” noted the President.
The theme of this forum resonates strongly with the radical vision of the African Continental Free Trade Area as a transformative framework aimed at increasing Africa’s income by Sh 50 trillion by 2035 and boosting intra-African trade by over 81 per cent.
The President disclosed that over the past year, Kenya has made remarkable progress in implementing the 10-Year Innovation Masterplan. Initiatives like the Research-to-Commercialisation Accelerator have supported 18 enterprises and raised over Sh100 million.
Similarly, the Kenya Network of Entrepreneurial Institutions has empowered university leaders to drive entrepreneurial transformation. These are remarkable milestones which highlight the strength of Kenya’s innovation ecosystem in delivering tangible results.
The country’s commitment to collaboration at the pan-African and international levels is also evident in such initiatives as the Kenya-India Innovation Nexus and the Africa Innovation Agencies Network. These are partnerships dedicated to unlocking markets and ensuring that appropriate and transformative African solutions are deployed to address African challenges.
Accordingly, he said, Kenya is proud of its leading role in positively defining the continent’s future.
