Kenya firms miss out on EU funding for not registering IP rights

“First, it’s a requirement to get funded. So if there is no IP, no funding. So that’s a very crude but rational thing,” Mr Scheffer told the Business Daily.

“So basically that means that in the different instruments, we require a certain level of patenting, first as a proof that you have the deep technology, and more lately as a basis of value.”

Specifically, more than 4,000 Kenyan innovators from 79 local universities lack awareness and understanding of the IPR process, which limits their ability to protect their work and attract investment.

The total EIC grant budget of €1.4 billion from the new EIC work programme 2025 will support game-changing innovations from early-stage research to proof of concept, technology transfer, and the financing and scale-up of start-ups and small and medium enterprises.

Specifically, it supports projects focusing on breakthrough technologies and game-changing innovations, offering grants, investments through the EIC Fund, prizes, and business acceleration services.

Its main purpose is not to maximise financial returns but to have a high impact by supporting disruptive technologies and their growth.

“This is because a patent has a certain value in the eyes of the VC (criteria of a venture capitalist) because it gives 10 years of exclusivity of technology,” said Mr Scheffer.

“So it’s also a value determinant. Rightfully, if a university has been the basis for a patent, they also say, well, we want 10 percent royalties for the use of that patent. It’s an important value driver, and also an important driver of, I would say, a temporary monopoly.”

In 2025, the EIC funding and support will be organised into a number of funding schemes, including the EIC Pathfinder for advanced research to develop the scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies.

Funding has also been organised through the EIC Transition to validate technologies and develop business plans for specific applications.

IP lawyers and the European Innovation Council now want Kenyan innovators to seek intellectual property rights, as it plays an important role in encouraging investment in knowledge creation, where absorptive capabilities exist.

“Data available shows that there are numerous publications, which are being produced in the universities, but there are extremely few innovations and patents coming out of it,” said Clarence Mideva, an intellectual property lawyer and assistant manager at the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).

“First of all, IPR protects your work from others copying or mimicking. So one important thing is to protect your innovation or creativity from someone else copying and duplicating it.”

A Commission for University Education report ‘University Statistics 2022-23’ analysis of the research outputs in Kenya’s universities revealed that paper publication (4,090) is the predominant output, followed by innovations (431). The least is patents (one).

According to the report, this is a worrying finding as it means that universities contribute very little to patents, which could be taken up by the industry for production and commercialisation. It also confirms the long-held view that universities in Kenya concentrate more on teaching and less on research activities.

“This seems to indicate that few research outputs translate into patents,” said Ms Mideva.

“Patents, copyrights, trademarks and other IPR instruments are important assets and a source of revenue through self-exploitation and royalties, sales, joint ventures and licensing agreements. There is a need to patent your works.”

Kenya’s Movable Property Security Rights Act 2017 signals a cultural shift in the legal framework concerning using intellectual property as collateral for securing loans.

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