The Government of Kenya, through the National Intelligence and Research University (NIRU), has commenced the incubation of Kenyan artificial intelligence (AI) innovators, positioning the country to translate promising ideas into practical, job-creating, and nationally relevant Al solutions.
The incubation programme is supporting a shortlisted cohort of innovators drawn from more than 2,400 Al solution proposals submitted during the National Al Hackathon 2025, following a record national response that attracted over 5,600 registrations from across the country.
Under the incubation framework, innovators will receive structured technical mentorship, product refinement support, ethical Al guidance, and commercialisation insights to enable their solutions to move from concept to deployment. The incubated solutions are expected to support key sectors, including agriculture, public service delivery, cybersecurity, governance, and sustainable development, while strengthening Kenya’s digital economy and innovation pipeline.
Speaking at the workshop during the launch of the mentorship, Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation, said structured incubation is essential to ensuring innovation delivers real value.
“By incubating Al innovations locally, Kenya is strengthening its capacity to develop technologies that respond to our socio-economic realities, create jobs, and enhance national security. Our focus is to help innovators translate ideas into scalable solutions, build viable Al products, and nurture local intellectual property that can contribute meaningfully to economic growth and national resilience.”
The incubation programme builds on a national call launched in October 2025, which challenged Kenyans to develop Al-driven solutions to priority national challenges.
“Our focus is on building a trusted pipeline of Kenyan Al solutions that enhance national security, create economic value, and ensure intellectual property is developed and retained here at home in Kenya,” said Dr James Kibon, Vice Chancellor, NIRU.
As part of the incubation journey, innovators are engaging with local and international Al experts, ahead of the final National Al Hackathon showcase scheduled for March 2026. The programme also benefits from global expertise, including Dr. David Dixon, Head of Al Education and Innovation at MIT Horizon.
The initiative is spearheaded by NIRU, in partnership with leading academic institutions and private-sector players, including USIU-Africa, Strathmore University, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, the Open University of Kenya, the Communication Authority of Kenya, Equity Bank, KCB, and Safaricom.
