Kenya has strengthened its role as a regional innovation hub after the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) hosted a high‑level North African startup forum in Nairobi. The event, IPDAYS Nairobi x Silicon Savannah Startup Fair 2026, marked the first Kenyan edition of Inno’Preneurs Days (IPDAYS), Tunisia’s premier startup and intellectual property platform established in 2022.
The forum drew six Tunisian startups alongside more than 60 Kenyan ventures, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem enablers from Tunisia, Egypt, and Kenya. Programming included B2B and B2C matchmaking sessions, investor pitches, policy briefings, and workshops on cross‑border market entry, financing, and IP commercialisation.
KoTDA Chief Executive John Paul Okwiri said the gathering underscored Konza’s role as a structured entry point for startups moving south. “For KoTDA, this occasion is more than a gathering; it is a statement of intent that Africa’s digital future will be built through collaboration, innovation and partnerships,” he said, stressing the need to protect, finance, and commercialise innovation.
Okwiri noted that African innovation ecosystems have historically operated in silos, limiting growth and cross‑border partnerships. The Nairobi forum, he said, was designed to break those barriers.
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Douja Gharbi, CEO of RedStart Tunisie Accelerator, said the event was built on a trade mission to Kenya nearly a year ago. “We return to deepen collaboration, align roadmaps and create scalable pathways that support startup growth across borders,” she said. Assem Kamel, CEO of Seketak Solutions, added that earlier editions in Tunis, Cairo, and Abidjan had successfully connected startups to new business and investment pipelines.
The forum saw the signing of a collaboration agreement between KoTDA, RedStart Tunisie, and Seketak Solutions. The deal covers startup exchange programmes, soft‑landing initiatives, joint acceleration, capacity building, and broader ecosystem development, giving institutional structure to what has so far been largely informal North‑South African startup mobility.
The forum aligns with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda, which seeks to unify African markets for goods, services, and digital trade. It also comes at a pivotal moment, just a day after President William Ruto assented to the Technopolis Bill, 2024, which establishes a legal framework for technopolis development under Kenya’s Vision 2030 blueprint. The law is expected to attract technology‑driven enterprises, streamline compliance, and strengthen governance infrastructure for Kenya’s innovation ecosystem.
By Masaki Enock
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