Ekraal Hub, H-Pass businesses, Step-Hear Ltd and Personal Watchguard are the winners of the Konza innovation challenge 2021 planned by the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) and Embassy of Israel in Kenya.
The four start-ups will provide solutions in their respective fields to the residents and investors in the techno city. While Personal Watchguard, Ekraal Hub and H-Pass businesses are Kenyan based, Step-Hear Ltd is from Israel.
“This is exciting and historic moment in the sector as we are accelerating development by having homegrown solutions to deal with our challenges. As a government, we are glad that these innovations will be piloted here at the Technopolis,” said Joe Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs.
The CS said that the piloting of the innovations at Konza Technopolis is a great milestone for the country as not only does it serve Konza but can also be implemented in the rest of the country. He encouraged and challenged innovators to make use of government programs such as National ICT Master Plan, the Constituency Innovation Hubs (CIHs) and the National Broad Band Policy in order to come up with more solutions locally.
Konza has been at the forefront of supporting innovation programs. In 2020, it collaborated with the Association of Countrywide hubs and partners to hold the “Great COVID 19 Innovation” challenge, a move that was instrumental in developing solutions to help fight against the pandemic.
“As a country, Israel is honoured to be part of Kenya’s innovation journey, and we are happy to compare notes and share ideas. Kenya’s start-up ecosystem is vibrant, and quite established in the continent. As the government of Israel, I would like to state that we are proud to be part of this journey and we pledge to continue working with you to build your ICT and Innovation ecosystem for posterity,” said Oded Joseph, Israel Ambassador to Kenya.
