The Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and the Rift Valley Institute of Business Studies (RVIBS) have partnered to launch a campaign educating young Kenyan entrepreneurs on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to safeguard their innovations.
The initiative has already trained 96 students from local universities, all specializing in Internet of Things (IoT) and Robotics at RVIBS.
This training, which will be ongoing, is particularly crucial for these students, who are beneficiaries of the KSh 6.5 billion (US$50 million) World Bank-funded SKIES (Strengthening Kenya’s Innovation Ecosystem) scholarship program.
SKIES, implemented by the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry through the State Department for Industry, aims to bolster Kenya’s innovation ecosystem by strengthening the capacity of 13 Kenyan intermediaries, including incubators, accelerators, and technology boot camp providers.
Through the Kenya Industrial and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP), RVIBS, along with 8 universities and 500 startups, are receiving support to develop and improve their operations, business models, and service quality.
During a training session at RVIBS’s main campus in Nakuru, Mr. Winstone Nyaguti, a senior research scientist at KIRDI’s Directorate of Technology Transfer and Extension Services, highlighted a common issue: “Some students preferred to sell their innovations to institutions or researchers at lower rates and return to the drawing board to develop others instead of moving around to have them patented.”
He explained that the IPR training aims to equip students with the knowledge needed to protect their intellectual property and transform their ideas into successful businesses.
Mr. Nyaguti noted that although government agencies are implementing policies to promote IP protection, research indicates that entrepreneurs are often unaware of its importance.
“This is the gap we are trying to fill through this initiative,” he stated.
Articles 11 and 40 of the Kenyan Constitution mandate the government to support and protect the intellectual property rights of Kenyans.
Intellectual property provides internationally recognized incentives for creators and innovators. Kenya’s legal system recognizes three primary forms of protection: patents (for scientific, medical, health, and technological innovations), copyrights (for artistic expressions), and trademarks (for distinguishing marks like logos and sounds).
Industrial designs and utility models are also recognized as IP. This protection extends to both individuals and corporations based in Kenya.
Mr. Nyaguti revealed that 35 innovations from the RVIBS cohort will be considered for IP reward systems, including patents, utility models, and trademarks, emphasizing the need for advocacy, capacity building, and awareness in patenting.
“There are a lot of innovations and ideas from this group particularly in the field of Information, Communication Technology that need to be patented,” he added.
Mr. Nyaguti also noted that fear of theft prevents many innovative students from pursuing their ideas.
“There is a need to sensitize young innovators on protection of their creative work. Apart from being aware of intellectual property rights, potential innovators should know the bodies that deal with property rights so that they can confirm the novelty of their ideas and the process of having those approved patented,” he said.
He further cautioned that students at TVETs, universities, and colleges often disclose too much about their innovations before securing patents.
“It is encouraging to witness hard work and creativity of the students across the County who have come up with innovative products including a variety of soft wares and mobile applications that have the potential to drive the Kenya Vision 2030,” he added.
KIRDI and RVIBS are collaborating to encourage innovation and the acquisition of IPR.
Mr. Nyaguti urged the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and other relevant bodies to collaborate and extend this knowledge to young people.
“If all parties play their role, Kenya’s ranking will improve in the Intellectual Rights Global Index. More crucially, our youth will reap maximum dividends from their intellectual investments and will be even more motivated to re-invest in their minds,” he emphasized.
He advised innovators to seek patents before publicly disclosing their work to prevent infringement, noting that approved patents grant exclusive production and marketing rights.
He stressed the importance of registering with relevant institutions, such as KIPI, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, to secure IPR protection.
Mr. John Waita, Software Developer and Trainer at RVIBS, stressed the importance of protecting young Kenyans’ creativity.
“As a country, we are slowly moving from an agricultural dominant economy to a knowledge-based economy. Value and wealth will soon no longer be determined by acreage of land or heads of cattle owned but by mental assets possessed. Our youths cannot mount a formidable defense of their intellectual property from a position of misconception,” he said.
He added that numerous online opportunities exist for self-employment through innovation. “Innovations are catalysts to economic growth and therefore patenting the Innovations will offer more effective tools for knowledge sharing and transfer of technology,” Mr. Waita explained.
Barasa Ivy, a training beneficiary, and her colleagues have developed the “Career Support Platform,” an e-platform connecting those seeking scholarships, jobs, and industrial attachments.
The app includes administrator, career scholarship, and industry liaison modules, allowing job seekers to upload their information and connecting industries with potential employees.
Ivy confirmed their understanding of the patenting process.
Wanja Muthami, another innovator, and her team have created an IoT technology for optimizing greenhouse conditions, controlling watering, temperature, lighting, humidity, air quality, and soil moisture.
Their prototype automates irrigation and monitors soil moisture, even incorporating a rain sensor to prevent overwatering.
“Basically, we have configured the system to avoid over-watering or under-watering of crops. The system is also equipped with a rain sensor designed to switch off water pumps whenever it is raining. This is to avoid wastage and bolster conservation of water which is gradually becoming a very scarce resource,” Ms. Muthami explained.
The system also regulates greenhouse conditions, triggering ventilation or heating systems as needed, and notifying the farmer of any issues.
“Our initial trials have confirmed that it also checks air quality and guarantees appropriate aeration. When the temperatures plummet below favourable levels, it triggers a heating system automatically. If the green house is either too hot or too cold the farmer is notified,” she elaborated.
Ms. Muthami’s system allows farmers to control their greenhouses remotely via a user-friendly smartphone app or SMS.
“The farmer can choose to control the farm automatically, where the farm regulates itself according to the optimum conditions of the crops being grown.
Notifications will be sent to the farmer through the app or SMS. On the other hand, it can be controlled manually where, for example, the farmer can set the temperature to 24 degrees or the soil moisture to a particular value,” she said.
The system regulates humidity, temperature, soil moisture, airflow, light, and pH.
“Fine-tuning them manually is close to impossible. Yet, using IoT in a greenhouse environment and implementing the system properly can assist in automating and optimizing these factors for the ideal environmental conditions,” she added.
The system also provides data-driven recommendations.
“The farmer can control the greenhouse easily with his or her smart-phone, through a user-friendly app, which is easy to understand and operate,” she noted.
“I believe that farming in Kenya can reach its peak by embracing modern technology, where information and data analysis is readily available and accessible by anyone from anywhere. Local farmers rely too much on nature which is not as effective,” Ms. Muthami concluded.
She hopes this innovation will make farming more appealing to young people, less labor-intensive, and more sustainable.
