Kenya Sets Priorities To Commercialise Research Ahead Of ATLC 2026

Kenya’s research and innovation community has outlined priorities for helping locally developed knowledge, prototypes and technologies move from research into commercial use.

The priorities emerged from the Research Innovation and Commercialisation Roundtable held at Weston Hotel in Nairobi as part of preparations for the Africa Technology Leadership Conference 2026.

The roundtable brought together representatives from public and private universities, TVET institutions, national research organisations, government departments, standards bodies and the private sector.

Participants examined why promising research often stalls between the laboratory, validation, certification, investment and market entry.

The discussions highlighted the need to identify promising capabilities, involve industry earlier, finance development at different stages, and prepare innovations for standards approval and commercial scale.

“We are producing knowledge. Do we have the talent and ideas? The answer is yes. The question is whether we can convert more of this knowledge, consistently and sustainably,” said Professor Shaukat Abdulrazak, Principal Secretary, State Department for Science, Research and Innovation.

Abdulrazak said Kenya needs clearer results from investments in universities and research institutions by converting more research into enterprises, jobs, useful products and measurable public benefit.

He also called for stronger links between public institutions and the private sector, with industry participating in the research ecosystem rather than entering only after a prototype has been completed.

Priorities for commercialisation

Participants identified several areas requiring attention, including stronger links between academia, research institutions, TVETs and industry around defined national and commercial problems.

They also proposed organising institutions into focused clusters supported by a national repository of expertise, facilities and research outputs, alongside stronger access to shared laboratories.

Another priority was establishing a financing pathway that distinguishes between ideation, proof of concept, prototyping, validation, commercialisation and scale.

The roundtable also called for standards, metrology, regulation and intellectual property requirements to be addressed from the concept stage, including affordable testing support for smaller institutions and innovators.

TVET institutions were identified as having a defined role in the commercialisation process, with ATLC 2026 expected to connect screened innovations with investors and corporate partners through deal rooms and structured one-to-one engagements.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards emphasised the importance of considering standards during the early stages of product development rather than treating compliance as a final step before market entry.

Participants also called for clearer intellectual property ownership and benefit-sharing arrangements to give researchers, institutions, students and commercial partners greater certainty when entering projects.

From discussion to action

The roundtable will inform a Kenyan position paper for the Africa Technology Leadership Conference 2026, scheduled for October 22–23 at Argyle Grand Hotel in Nairobi.

Before the conference, participating institutions are expected to identify their strongest research areas, leading researchers, major facilities and promising innovations for an initial national capability inventory.

A first portfolio of innovations will then be screened for engagement with investors, corporate partners and technical institutions.

The proposed deal-room model is intended to connect selected projects with potential finance, testing facilities, commercial expertise and distribution partnerships.

The roundtable also called for greater domestic financing through public funding, industry investment, matching grants, blended finance and long-term capital aligned with the risk associated with each development stage.

“We are here to reflect and prepare ourselves to be part of the upcoming Africa Technology Leadership Conference in October by shaping what we want to find and what we want to give there,” said Professor Vasey N. Mwaja, Chair of NACOSTI.

ATLC 2026 will bring together government, academia, research organisations, industry, investors, innovators and international partners around Kenya’s technology priorities and investable opportunities.

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