AfriLabs consortium seals a cooperative pact with Kenya's Konza Technopolis hub
The Kenyan organization, Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), and AfriLabs, a pan-African network of over 500 innovation and technology hubs spanning across 53 African countries, have joined forces in a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating African innovation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive technology development.
This comprehensive partnership, announced in July 2025, will see the launch of a suite of programs and initiatives designed to drive economic growth through science, technology, innovation, and knowledge-based industries.
Key programs under this collaboration include:
- Startup and innovation support: Targeted incubation, soft-landing, and mentorship programs for early- and growth-stage startups, with innovation showcases to highlight promising ventures.
- Intellectual Property (IP) and commercialization assistance: Helping innovators protect and commercialize their IP to strengthen the innovation pipeline.
- Joint research and development (R&D): Co-creating initiatives focused on frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), clean technology, digital health, and smart infrastructure to promote technological advancement.
- Talent development and capacity building: Bootcamps, policy incubators, and knowledge exchange programs for ecosystem builders, startups, policymakers, youth, and digital professionals to enhance skills and job market readiness.
- Funding and investment facilitation: Providing startups anchored in Konza access to AfriLabs’ investor networks, including the Catalytic Africa fund, to unlock growth capital and investment opportunities.
- Cross-border collaboration and exchange: Facilitating startup exchanges and incubation programs across African countries to expand market reach and knowledge sharing.
- Smart city innovation pilot: Utilizing Konza Technopolis as a living lab for smart city innovation, testing and demonstrating new technologies and digital public infrastructure solutions.
- Policy engagement and ecosystem building: Coordinating high-level participation and stakeholder mobilization for events like the AfriLabs Annual Gathering 2025 (AAG2025) in Nairobi, focused on innovation policy, partnerships, and progress to shape Africa’s innovation future.
Anna Ekeledo, the executive director at AfriLabs, expressed her pride in working alongside Konza Technopolis to expand the mission of empowering Africa's next generation of innovators. This partnership represents a shared commitment to scaling African innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, building capacity, and promoting inclusive technology development across the continent.
Located on 5,000 acres, Konza Technopolis serves as a master-planned smart city in Kenya, providing the perfect setting for this partnership to take root and flourish. The collaboration aims for long-term impact in scaling startups, fostering entrepreneurship, expanding skills, and catalyzing investment continent-wide. Many of these programs will begin in the context of AAG2025, scheduled for October 7–9, 2025, in Nairobi where Konza serves as Strategic Government Partner.
- Entrepreneurs in Africa will find funding and investment opportunities through this partnership between Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) and AfriLabs, as they will have access to investors like the Catalytic Africa fund.
- To promote technological advancement, the joint research and development (R&D) initiative under this collaboration will focus on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), clean technology, digital health, and smart infrastructure.
- As part of the talent development and capacity building programs, digital professionals will participate in bootcamps and knowledge exchange programs to enhance their skills and job market readiness, contributing to education-and-self-development efforts within the tech sector.
