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The ICT Authority says it has identified 130 bankable technology startups from Kenya which are ready for funding to help them scale during the Connected Africa Summit slated later this month.
The authority says the selected innovations have been identified out of 250 tech startups which registered on the Huduma Whitebox Programme which it runs jointly with the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA).
“We are asking tech innovators to register with ICTA through Huduma Whitebox Programme so that they can be exposed to investors and venture capitalist looking to come into this market. We will be able to take through incubation programme, train them on business skills, give them mentors and also try to match them with investors so that they are able to scale,” said Stanley Kamanguya, Chief Executive Officer, ICTA.
Last year, Kenya was the largest recipient of the tech funding to Africa after raising Ksh 82.3 billion ($638m) equivalent to 29pc of total funding amounting to $2.19 billion according to the Big Deal Africa.
ICT and Digital Economy Principal Secretary John Tanui said the 16th summit will also present Kenya with investment opportunities in key areas such as hyperscale data centres.
To further allow for scalability of the local innovations into other markets, Kenya is targeting to expand its data sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regional countries including Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo during the summit. Kenya already has agreements with South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda and is working with other countries including Somalia and Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We have a connection through Lungalunga to Tanzania, we have another programme connecting to Ethiopia and we hope it goes all the way to Djibouti and and probably an alternative to Somalia. Connected is the platform for us to connect as a continent and to address those very challenging issues that cannot be addressed only as a country,” said Tanui.
ICTA further expects harmonization of data privacy and data privacy and data residency laws in the continent to support expansion of local innovations into other markets and reduce legal hurdles they face.
“Right now if you are a business and want to scale in Kenya, you have to comply to the business registration laws, data privacy laws and you go to another country you do the same. So our innovators are spending more money on lawyers and the process of registering and getting into other markets than they are on product development and this is what we are saying we must address,” added Kamanguya.
At least 2000 delegates from more than 10 African countries are expected at the summit which is slated for later this month and will feature high-level plenaries, executive roundtables, sector-specific breakout sessions, and targeted policy dialogues.
The summit will also include discussions on key areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, fintech, healthtech, edutech and digital public services.
