Brussels, 20 July 2022/OACPS: As part of their seven-month mission to assist Kenya in developing guidelines for enhancing technology transfer/commercialisation and coordination of Innovation hubs, an Expert Panel from the Policy Support Facility (PSF) visited a wide range of key Research and Innovation (R&I) actors from 2-9 July 2022, to collect significant inputs on how to effectively manage the rapidly-growing network of innovation hubs and strengthen the innovation commercialisation process.

During their visit, the PSF Expert Panel conducted in-depth interviews and moderated focus groups with more than 60 representatives from about 30 institutions and organizations (including governmental institutions, innovation/technology hubs, startups, incubators, universities and research institutes active in commercialization, international cooperation agencies), adopting an inclusive and holistic approach for better ownership and impact of the PSF service.

Accompanied by the Policy Support Facility (PSF) Technical Assistance Unit, the international group of high-level experts has worked in close collaboration with the national team, led by Mr. Tonny K. Omwansa, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) – the requesting authority for this PSF service.

Following this field phase and further fine-tuning discussions with the national team, the PSF experts will start drafting a Policy Recommendation Report (PRR), providing evidence-based guidelines towards the development of implementation strategies to effectively manage the rapidly growing network of innovation hubs in the country; and guide and enable universities, research centres and other institutions of higher learning in Kenya on innovation commercialisation models.

Kenya was the fifth Member State of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to benefit from the Policy Support Facility, an innovative mechanism launched in January 2021 by the OACPS Research and Innovation Programme.

For more information, please download:

Factsheet of the PSF service in Kenya

Presentation of the members of the Expert Panel

Please also visit the webpage of the PSF service in Kenya

Photo: Focus group organised by PSF experts with senior R&I authorities, Kenya