The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) is a State Corporation established under the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Act, No. 28 of 2013 under the Ministry of Education.
President William Ruto on Wednesday, November 27, directed that the Kenya Innovation Agency (KENIA) be domiciled in the Office of the President, having been moved away from the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and the Arts, with a proposed budget of Ksh500 million.
Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Innovation Week 2024 in Nairobi, Ruto revealed that the move would ensure effective leverage across the government.
According to the Head of State, the government is leveraging technology and innovation to create opportunities, reduce inequality and drive the country’s economic growth.
“The government will continuously support innovation. When I came into office, the Kenya Innovation Agency had a budget of Ksh18 million. This year, the government has supported the agency with Ksh200 million,” Ruto announced.
President William Ruto speaking at the launch of the 4th Kenya Innovation Week in Nairobi on Wednesday, November 27, 2024. /PCS
“Because of the centrality and importance of innovation and the opportunities it can create, it is important that we harness the opportunity in this space. I therefore instruct that the agency moves to the Office of the President.”
The president emphasised that innovation is a cross-cutting issue, impacting many fields and that KeNIA’s new position within the Office of the President would provide the necessary oversight to create synergies between universities, technical institutions, and the private sector.
“Because of the crosscutting nature of innovation across different fields and the necessity to harness university education, TVETs, and all the education sectors into assisting and providing momentum for us to innovate, scale up ideas, and commercialise research, it becomes necessary that this agency moves to a central place where we can harness all these opportunities and assist in creating the momentum for job creation,” Ruto said.
He also acknowledged that many innovative ideas remain uncommercialised due to a lack of resources and pledged that the proposed increased funding would help mitigate risks associated with turning ideas into practical solutions.
“We should be able to move more ideas into practice because they offer practical solutions to some of the challenges we have. The wealth of knowledge, creativity, and innovation in the young people of Kenya is demonstrable,” the president said.
Furthermore, he remarked that by scaling up investments in innovation, including the establishment of the Ksh1 billion Start-Up Fund, and implementing Kenya’s 10-Year Innovation Masterplan, the government is positioning the country as a global innovation hub, supporting start-ups and empowering the youth.
The President also proposed an additional Ksh500 million budgetary allocation to the KENIA agency to help it promote the intake of innovative ideas noting that he will write a formal proposal to Parliament.
The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) is a State Corporation established under the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Act, No. 28 of 2013 under the Ministry of Education.
The core mandate of the Agency is to develop and manage the National Innovation System. The Agency is therefore responsible for the coordination, promotion and regulation of the National Innovation System.
Working with partners, KeNIA strengthens interrelationships between actors to promote innovation and enterprise development out of research and ideas.
“From supporting the identification, recording and protection of innovative ideas to coordinating the establishment and implementation of appropriate policies, standards, processes, infrastructure, and partnerships to nurture the innovative ideas,” explains KENIA on its website.
The agency also works with partners to ensure appropriate prioritisation, relevant capacity development, innovation recognition and publication of the same.
