Kenyatta to attend Kenyan ICT innovation forum

Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta will attend the inaugural National ICT Innovation Forum and Expo, which kicks off next week in Nairobi.

Disrupt Africa reported last week on the event, which will take place at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) and will bring together government and private sector players, including investors.

Kenyan startups and innovative ICT companies have been invited to register showcase their products, with organiser the ICT Authority (ICTA) saying it was an “unprecedented event”.

“The event is targeted at discussing specific ‘head-to-head’ challenges facing Kenyan innovators and opportunities. Additionally, the forum will include an ICT Expo where innovators will have a chance to showcase their ICT solutions that are at various levels of development,” ICTA said.

“The Innovation Forum and Expo is a unique opportunity for information sharing and cooperation between the public and private sector on emerging technologies and innovations. While we are all in agreement that tech enterprises need to work more closely and grow, our aim to make all these great ideas commercially viable,” said Victor Kyalo, chief executive officer (CEO) of the authority.

Kyalo said the event was organised in line with the country’s National ICT Master Plan, which looks to boost opportunities for Kenyan innovators by supporting the growth of locally developed solutions.

Sponsors of the event include Safaricom, Microsoft, Konza Techno City and Huawei, while key discussion topics will involve unlocking capital, talent development and employment, innovation, research and development, growing IT exports and the place of incubators and accelerators in the innovation ecosystem.

“This is the first event of its kind aimed at bringing the top echelons of decisions makers in the innovation ecosystem. This include, solution providers/innovators, academia and research institutions, government, bilateral organizations, venture capitalists, incubation labs, and ICT consumers,” ICTA said.