World Bank, Sote Hub supports 40 startups in Sh70m innovation program

Delegates during the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) SKIES stakeholders engagement forum at Sote Hub in Mombasa County on Friday 21st June 2024. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Forty innovative startups across the country will receive a Sh70 million grant from Sote Hub and the World Bank to strengthen Kenya's Innovation Ecosystem (SKIES).

These startups will focus on AgriTech, agro-processing, and manufacturing-areas identified as gaps in the economy under the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP).

While launching the initiative in Mombasa, Sote Hub Director David Ogiga said the project aims to enhance Kenya's innovation infrastructure while promoting sustainable economic growth and job creation.

Ogiga emphasised that the project would address youth unemployment, stating, "We are doing this to create jobs because the youths are struggling with jobs. Agriculture and manufacturing can churn 70 per cent of jobs if well invested into."

Sote Hub will provide Sh35 million, with the World Bank contributing the other half to support and mentor the startups. As part of KIEP, SKIES, Sote Hub will implement an eight-month project to build the capacity of these startups through boot camps, workshops, coaching, mentorship, field trips, funding roundtables, and networking events.

Ogiga highlighted that the project would add value in agriculture and green space production, waste management, and create opportunities to solve unemployment. Startups will receive targeted technical support in areas such as licensing, patenting, branding, copyrighting, and Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) certification.

Verification will be based on participation records, toolkit documentation, event feedback, and the implementation of technical support. The project will focus on startups from Nairobi, Machakos, Makueni, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River, and Lamu to increase innovation and productivity by building the capacity of 40 startups operating in the manufacturing, agriculture, and digital sectors.

The startups will be empowered by fostering collaboration and integration with key players through a targeted business development program and public-private partnerships, boosting their marketability and expansion. At the end of the program, 40 new innovations and 40 trained innovators will be developed, along with a market-fit toolkit, a business development curriculum, and a robust learning management system.

The project will create 40 new jobs, a minimum annual revenue growth of 10 per cent, three trained senior Sote Hub managers, and monitoring and evaluation infrastructure software. Through Nocode, entrepreneurs will be supported in building business websites and trained in digital marketing strategies and graphic design for website content creation through Canva.

The startups will also visit the Netherlands to benchmark and learn how to harness technology for bumper harvests. Sote Hub will assist them in scaling up and analyzing areas of intervention to support their growth.

Ogiga mentioned that the manufacturing sector currently contributes eight per cent to the economy but has the potential to reach 20 per cent. The project will focus on micro-processing in agro-products like cassava, horticulture, the blue economy, and fishing.

Previous cohorts from Mombasa have successfully turned fish waste into organic feed for poultry and fish, innovated cooler freezers for small-scale fish farmers to reduce harvest wastage, and mastered using coconut waste to make briquettes and charcoal.

High Court advocate Anna Kamau urged startups to ensure compliance to avoid legal issues and potential shutdowns. "Legal compliance in manufacturing is very important. A lot of startups have gone under because of lack of compliance," Kamau said.

Ms. Cecilia Mwangi, Innovation Ecosystem Manager under KIEP, stated that the project would extend government opportunities to startups to elevate innovators in branding and certification through Sote Hub. "We are looking to see how we can elevate innovators in those areas of branding and certification," said Mwangi.