ASSEK participated in the Lake Basin Investment and Innovation week 2020 which was held from 17th November to 19th November 2020. It was a fully virtual event. ASSEK participated in one of the panel discussions “Strengthening the ESOs community Nationally; Harnessing regional strengths” which was held on 17th November 2020.
The discussions focused on addressing challenges faced by ESOs particularly those around sustainability and addressing the general lack of understanding among people in regards to defining an innovation hub.
The key points of discussion pointed out were:
- There needs to be increased partnerships between hubs within Nairobi and other regions in Kenya as these are often overlooked.
- Different strategies that are aligned to technological advances need to be adopted within the ESO ecosystem post COVID to ensure sustainability across all regions in Kenya.
- We need to continue lobbying as it is important for the sustainability of Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESOs) this is because it is only through collaborative practices that innovation will thrive. One example where lobbying has been effective in steering the innovation agenda in Kenya was in the Start Up Bill.
- Each county in Kenya should have an incubation center focusing on the development of the various economic blocs. In this regard, there needs to be a law that pertains to the allocation of funds as concerns innovation, because other sectors such as education have existing laws in place to ensure that there is accountability.
