The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) advanced the rollout of its Cohort 3 Institutional Commercialisation Support (IS) Program at the United States International University – Africa (USIU-Africa), marking a key milestone in the ongoing initiative to strengthen innovation and research commercialisation within Kenyan universities.
The session, guided by the Entrepreneurial Institution Maturity Framework (EIMF), enabled participants to assess their innovation readiness across six core dimensions: leadership, governance, infrastructure, human capital, policies, and linkages.
The insights will inform the development of an Institutional Commercialisation Masterplan tailored to each university’s context.
KeNIA CEO, Dr. Tonny K. Omwansa, PhD, led the engagement, reaffirming the Agency’s dedication to building innovation-ready institutions and fostering entrepreneurship across Kenya’s higher education sector through strategic collaboration.
USIU-Africa Vice Chancellor, Professor Mwenda Ntarangwi, asserted the university’s commitment to harnessing student creativity and integrating emerging technologies like AI.
He emphasized agility, collaboration with KeNIA, and the need for universities to remain globally competitive in innovation, research and commercialisation.
Also present were Dr. Billy Wadongo (Ph.D), Director of the Innovation & Incubation Center, and faculty members actively driving innovation and entrepreneurship within the institution.
The engagement underscored KeNIA’s ongoing effort to strengthen research translation, build institutional capacity, and accelerate Kenya’s journey toward a robust, knowledge-based economy.
