Kenya’s capacity to compete in the global market greatly depends on the ability of her people to innovate and apply the relevant technology for growth and development. Kenya has put innovation at the centre of its development strategy primarily through Vision 2030 as well as through legislation such as the Science, Technology and Innovation Act, which mandates that R&D spending be doubled to 2% of the GDP. Though collectively we have put efforts into fostering innovations, we recognize that there is always room for improvement. Working together, we will improve our policy environment, our training programs, our incubation and acceleration frameworks, our commercialization of research and innovations as well as the visibility of the innovative solutions we create.

Nairobi Innovation Week is a signature annual event to celebrate and recognize innovations that are relevant to our society. 

Objectives of the Nairobi Innovation Week:

• To champion relevant policy discussions on innovation within institutions and the country
• To promote practical skills necessary to create innovations that truly impact people and societies
• To showcase and recognize innovations by researchers, incubatees, startups and organizations
• To build a platform for presentation and dissemination of relevant academic papers, innovation illustrations and case studies

The University of Nairobi acknowledges that Innovation and Entrepreneurship are some of the key pillars that will significantly shape the growth of our economy.

This is clearly reflected in our national policy documents and we are already seeing the results of these strategic efforts. As the leading University in the region, we are opening a new chapter to provide leadership in the development of our National Innovation Ecosystem.

We would like to nurture and encourage the discipline of creating human centric innovations that have meaningful impact in society. We welcome partners into this endeavor.

We initiated the Nairobi Innovation Week as a platform that gives all of us an opportunity to celebrate and propel our joint innovation efforts. This year, working with several partners, we convened the 2^nd Nairobi Innovation Week as a demonstration of our commitment to this agenda.  Committing five days of the calendar year to focus on various aspects of Innovation is a sign that we are determined to turn the National Innovation Wheel.

As the Vice Chancellor, I would like to assure all innovators, students, faculty, sponsors, partners and other stakeholders that I will spare no effort to support the creative energies of our people in not only growing human centered products and services but also advancing an innovative culture in our society.

Welcome to the Nairobi Innovation Week 2016