AfDB Unveils Incubation Centre at Kenya’s PAUSTI University

At the Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences Technology and Innovation (PAUSTI), the Incubation Centre of Excellence, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), has opened its doors in an effort to foster and foster innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and connections with the private sector.

Four master’s and PhD programs are offered through PAUSTI, a postgraduate hub of research and innovation housed in Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

The PAUSTI Centre of Excellence (PAUSTI CoE), funded by the AfDB, is a cutting-edge facility and innovation hub that aims to encourage and foster innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and connections with the private sector. In order to promote innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent, it also aims to speed up the application of research and development through technology and connections with the private sector.

The AfDB-funded Incubation Centre, which was established in June 2021, has assisted innovators over the past seven months by holding capacity-building workshops, giving them business training, and granting funding of up to US$5,000. Twelve innovations were recently displayed to the public in order to connect them with essential players who will help them grow, either through financial support or employment prospects.

Hendrina Chalwe Dorobo, division manager for education and skills development at the AfDB, praised the inventors for expanding on their concepts and creating a functional prototype that is ready for commercialization. She claimed that effective collaborations, like the one shown in running the Incubation Center, are essential to maintaining the relevance and viability of the solutions developed by researchers and innovators.

The African Growth Bank is dedicated to making sure that innovations provide value and advance the socioeconomic development of the continent, she said.