Global Alliance Africa Team visit Eldoret Innovation Network Advisory Board for Co-Creation Session

The week commencing 16 May, Bhavya Srinivasan, Global Alliance Africa’s – Knowledge Transfer Manager and Place-Based Innovation (PBI) Intervention Lead based in London and Basil Malaki, Knowledge Transfer Manager, Global Alliance Africa based in Nairobi co-hosted a co-creation meeting as well as targeted dialogues with members of the Eldoret Innovation Network Advisory Board (EINAB).

EINAB is structured to meet bi-monthly to strengthen collaboration among the Local Innovation Network (LIN) players. The LIN is represented on the Advisory Board by eight innovation players from Eldoret, who have worked closely with Global Alliance Africa to identify key ecosystem challenges that informed development of the Eldoret Innovation Action Plan (IAP). The goal of the IAP is to ensure that the Eldoret Innovation community works together to create a sustainable and connected ecosystem, with a renewed focus on continual education and skills development to create more meaningful opportunities for jobs and growth.

“We must support and nurture youth-led businesses to grow. Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done.”

Professor Masibo, Lumala Researcher, Moi University

We aim to strengthen the capacity and resilience of local and national innovation systems in areas of high potential by connecting, coordinating and collaborating with UK and African businesses, academia, investors, government, public funders and NGOs. This is achieved through the Place-Based Innovation (PBI) intervention. During the visit, we had conversations with individual members of EINAB to further identify ecosystem gaps; what already exists and who we can connect to make innovative solutions a reality to strengthen the PBI Regional Innovation Audit Report which was launched in Eldoret on November 17, 2021. View here.

“Digitalisation of small businesses helps them leverage the data that is already available to them to create better products, become more agile, gain a competitive advantage and unlock new opportunities.”

Magdaline Chepkemoi, Executive Director, Eldohub

We gathered valuable information which will inform our future engagements in Eldoret, enrich the PBI Regional Innovation Audit Report and create more clarity on the gaps that still need to be filled while acknowledging efforts of stakeholders already involved in supporting growth of the Eldoret innovation ecosystem. While on this mission in Eldoret, we attended the EINAB meeting which was facilitated by Bhavya to define our collaboration and identify activities within specific sectors of relevance and priority to the ecosystem.

The board identified Agriculture as a sector of focus. They agreed to focus further on vegetable crops to be able to learn as much as possible before the next EINAB meeting.

“Agribusiness and food processing are important parts of modernising our economy, taking control of what we eat, and a source of income and employment for many youth and women in Kenya. Modernised agriculture helps not only farmers but also consumers.”

Lilian Songok, Director, GavoPum Glutten-Free International

The next EINAB meeting is to be held in mid-July.

Click here for a full list of personnel on the Eldoret Innovation Network Advisory Board (EINAB).