Efforts to position Kenya’s Coast region as a leading hub for innovation and regional cooperation are in top gear.
The upcoming sixth edition of Pwani Innovation Week 2025 (PIW), scheduled for October, aims to unlock the region’s potential through a three-pronged approach centred on equipping the youth with digital skills, promoting entrepreneurship, and fostering cross-sectoral collaboration.
Speaking on Thursday during the launch of the roadmap for the annual event to be held in Mombasa from October 27 to 31, PIW Chairman Dr. Kevit Desai emphasised the need for strategic partnerships and investments in the youth to drive sustainable economic growth.
“We are underscoring the vital importance of equipping our youth with digital skills for market-readiness. We are here to actively re-imagine and engineer a new future for coastal economies. Youth are not just the future; they are our greatest, most dynamic asset, eager to apply novel and innovative solutions across every sector,” he noted.
Swahilipot Hub Foundation is the organiser of the event, under the transformative theme, “Pwani Reimagined: Youth Agency, Innovation, and Sustainability of Coastal Economies”.
The week-long event will bring together changemakers, innovators, policy makers, and partners to steer critical conversations, co-create solutions, and unlock opportunities for the Coast region and beyond.
The foundation is also leveraging the region’s historic urban heritage to empower and amplify youth voices as drivers of economic transformation.
Youth employment
“Pwani’s natural resources and avenues like Blue Economy hold a lot of potential for sustainable economic ventures, …we want to nurture a new generation of entrepreneurs, encouraging youth to think beyond employment by building on available resources. Job creation is vital in re-imagining a diversified coastal economic landscape”, Desai noted.
The Chair further advocated for harmonised strategies and collaborative action across sectors and borders, emphasising the need to build cross-sectoral bridges grounded in shared heritage and resources.
“This collaborative approach is crucial in establishing the Kenyan Coast as a leading hub for innovation and regional cooperation, promoting shared prosperity, and building a more resilient and interconnected business and innovation ecosystem”, he added.
“ This also involves community-driven systems change – where elders, women’s groups, local artisans, and changemakers co-create solutions alongside technologists and academics”, he said.
The government has been keen on setting up science, research, and innovation Hubs across the country to enhance access to mentorship and funding, promoting innovation, especially among the youth.
Principal Secretary Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, who attended the media briefing at a Nairobi hotel, hailed the initiative, which he says supports impactful innovation.
