Agency to set up incubation hub for innovators in new plan

What you need to know:

This is a major shift for an agency that funds local innovators after they present viable ideas.
The facility is expected to open early next year with the capacity to accommodate 300 innovators in a multi-million shilling complex to also serve as its headquarters.
Agency’s grants co-ordinator David Ngigi told the Business Daily in an interview that the move is part of its new strategy following its elevation to a fully-fledged commission.

The National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) is set to establish an incubation centre in Kabete to help innovators commercialise ideas.

This is a major shift for an agency that funds local innovators after they present viable ideas.

The facility is expected to open early next year with the capacity to accommodate 300 innovators in a multi-million shilling complex to also serve as its headquarters.

Agency’s grants co-ordinator David Ngigi told the Business Daily in an interview that the move is part of its new strategy following its elevation to a fully-fledged commission.

Formerly referred to as a council, the agency now has a wider mandate after President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to the Science and Technology Act 2013.

“We have previously been operating as a council advising the government on innovation and research findings until recently when we were given more powers to accredit institutions including universities and companies that deal with research and technology,’’ said Mr Ngigi.

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He said the incubation and mentorship hub would boost innovators and help them earn from their ideas unlike in the past when it only helped secure intellectual property rights as well as offer grants.

However, a lack nurturing saw most projects collapse since innovators did not have entrepreneurship skills.

The agency, that is under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, gives innovators an initial funding of Sh1 million to develop their prototypes and later Sh3 million for commercialisation.

Mr Ngigi says the commission plans to spend Sh400 million on funding innovations, research and training. Part of the money would also be used to fund individuals pursuing Master’s and PhD programmes this year.

“Last year, we supported 100 PhD and 100 Master’s students in different local universities,’’ says Mr Ngigi. “We encourage women scientists to apply as part of our gender empowerment programme.”

In 2010, the commission received a budgetary allocation of Sh250 million compared to Sh400 million this financial year.

The cash, the commission said, has enabled it to increase grants to innovators.

Most of the funded innovations fall under information technology and the mobile platforms but Mr Ngigi said the trend is changing in favour of health and agriculture.

“Since 2010, we decided to support research in thematic areas like food security and climate change,’’ he said.

“In 2012, we also supported renewable energy and engineering while this year, we will give grants to health, water and sanitation innovations.”

Chief executive Shaukat Abdulrazak, while speaking at Kenyatta University recently, said NCST plans to increase grants to universities to boost innovations and employment.