The government is sourcing for extra funding for the research sector in order to support and spur the emerging innovations for locally bred ideas.
The move comes even after the national government failed to meet the two per cent allocation threshold of the National Domestic Product (GDP) to fund Research, Science and Innovation as mandated by the 2013 Act.
By enacting this Act, Parliament tasked the National Research Fund with the necessary funding provisions in law to drive innovations and help commercialize research locally.
However, inadequate funding for the sector has seen Kenya being ranked 96th out of 132 countries in the 2024 Global Innovation Index, which measures institutions' capacity, human capital, research infrastructure and creative outputs.
