Ruto moves innovation agency to his office, proposes Sh500 million budget boost
By Lucy Mumbi |
Ruto argued that centralising KeNIA under his office would improve coordination and unlock opportunities to create high-quality jobs for Kenyan youth.
President William Ruto has directed the transfer of the Kenya Innovation Agency (KeNIA) from the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and the Arts to the Office of the President, with a proposed budget of Sh500 million.
Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Innovation Week 2024 in Nairobi on Wednesday, Ruto argued that centralising KeNIA under his office would improve coordination and unlock opportunities to create high-quality jobs for Kenyan youth.
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He said the move would allow the government to better harness innovation across various sectors. He also pledged to propose a budgetary allocation of Sh500 million for the agency, along with Sh1 billion for the Startup Fund in Parliament.
“The government will continuously support innovation. When I came into office, the Kenya Innovation Agency had a budget of Sh18 million. This year, the government has supported the agency with Sh200 million,” Ruto said.
“Because of the centrality and importance of innovation and the opportunities it can create, it is important that we harness the opportunity in this space. I therefore instruct that the agency moves to the Office of the President.”
We are leveraging technology and innovation to create opportunities, reduce inequality and drive our country’s economic growth.
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) November 27, 2024
By scaling up investments in innovation, including the establishment of KSh1 billion Start Up Fund, and implementing Kenya's 10-Year Innovation… pic.twitter.com/LYHyz2vXKx
The president emphasised that innovation is a cross-cutting issue, impacting many fields, and argued that KeNIA’s new position within the Office of the President would provide the necessary oversight to create synergies between universities, technical institutions, and the private sector.
“Because of the crosscutting nature of innovation across different fields and the necessity to harness university education, TVETs, and all the education sectors into assisting and providing momentum for us to innovate, scale up ideas, and commercialise research, it becomes necessary that this agency moves to a central place where we can harness all these opportunities and assist in creating the momentum for job creation,” Ruto said.
He also acknowledged that many innovative ideas remain uncommercialised due to a lack of resources and pledged that the proposed increased funding would help mitigate risks associated with turning ideas into practical solutions.
“We should be able to move more ideas into practice because they offer practical solutions to some of the challenges we have. The wealth of knowledge, creativity, and innovation in the young people of Kenya is demonstrable,” the president said.
Through this initiative, the Head of State, the government aims to foster an environment conducive to the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship, ultimately leading to more job opportunities for the country’s youth.
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