The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) has marked the official closure of the 2023-2024 Presidential Innovation Challenge and Awards while launching a call for innovations for the 2024-2025 edition to occur from the 25th to 29th of November 2024.
KeNIA aims to enhance sustainability in the employment sector in the country by accelerating the growth of the sale of products through promoting collaborations, partnerships, and market expansions from innovations by individuals and companies such as Signverse.
Speaking at the event, Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen, commended the 2023-2024 cohort for their participation and emphasized the importance of participating in the 2024-2025 edition.
The CS said the move would unlock Kenya’s creativity and innovation globally, besides benefiting the actors economically.
“Countries that perform well in terms of innovation are those that give priority to protecting their intellectual properties,” stressed Murkomen.
He also noted that the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) would protect Kenyans’ innovations, such as intellectual property and trademarks.
“Following the recent focus on theoretical learning rather than practicality in the country, there is a need to foster close relations between the youth, innovation, and universities in order to encourage the youths to partake in the oncoming Kenya Innovation Week (KIW) and innovation programs,” observed the CS.
Murkomen revealed that one of the issues Kenya faces with innovation is intolerance to immigration, which is a tactic that the top 10 countries, such as Sweden, embrace.
He encouraged Kenyans to borrow from the leading innovative countries and try embracing immigration as a means to boost innovation in the country.
This year’s Kenya Innovation Week is dedicated to Africa, where the President has encouraged mobilisation by making the week an international affair.
Further, the international symposium will aim to foster dialogue, relations, and exchange of knowledge between individuals of different spheres.
Kenyans are urged to sign up for the 2024-2025 cohort by submitting their applications through the KeNIA website.
By Imbiakha Phanice
