In 2023, Kenya Innovation Week (KIW) will host the Commonwealth Edition, themed "Innovating to Unlock Our Common Wealth", from 27 November to 1 December 2023 at the College of Insurance (Edge Convention Centre) in Nairobi. This edition will focus on leveraging innovation to advance wealth creation for societal well-being.

The forum will explore how disruptive innovations can drive socio-economic progress and transform industries. KIW 2023 - CW ED will offer a unique opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices for building innovative ecosystems that create shared value. Participants will learn from one another through panel discussions, exhibitions, keynote speeches, fireside chats, workshops, and networking events and build connections to support their innovation journeys.

With a focus on building sustainable solutions that benefit communities, KIW is crucial in positioning Kenya as a leading hub of innovation in Africa and beyond. Kenya welcomes innovators, investors, corporations, governments, development partners, and all who are passionate about innovation and committed to creating a commonwealth in this era of globalisation.

KENYA INNOVATION WEEK (KIW) 2023 – COMMONWEALTH EDITION BRIEF

The Government of Kenya, through the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA), Ministry of Youth Affairs, and the Arts and Sports, yearly convenes an innovation week in December where relevant stakeholders, including government, innovators, start-ups, investors, development partners, civil society, media, and the private sector among others gather to promote and advance innovation in the country and the region.

1. The past two annual innovation weeks have convened over 7,000 delegates from across the globe and attracted participation from over 70 countries. By bringing diverse individuals and institutions together, the forum nurtures synergies and raises awareness of innovation as a catalyst for economic growth.

2. This year, in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Government of Kenya will hold the Kenya Innovation Week 2023 – Commonwealth Edition from 27 November to 1 December 2023 at the College of Insurance (Edge Convention Centre) in Nairobi. This year’s edition is themed “Innovating to Unlock our Common Wealth” and will focus on leveraging innovation to advance wealth creation for societal well-being.

3. KIW 2023 aims to unlock new opportunities for the youth, entrepreneurs, and innovators by offering investment opportunities through pitches, opening new markets, and initiating dialogue to create an enabling environment for innovation to thrive. Further, KIW 2023 will provide a unique opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices for building innovative ecosystems that create shared value across the Commonwealth.

4. KIW 2023 Commonwealth edition seeks to achieve the following objectives:

   a. Forge new inter-regional partnerships to expand the Commonwealth innovation ecosystem;

   b.To showcase the best start-ups and innovations from Commonwealth countries to a range of curated investors;

   c. To advance and diffuse the uptake of emerging technologies that can generate innovative solutions to the socio-economic and environmental challenges of today and tomorrow;

   d. To facilitate the creation of new markets for inbound and outbound startups,

   e. To launch a range of products and programmes to unlock our ‘common wealth’.

5. The Innovation Week will be constituted by thematic pre-events organised by partner organisations, set to occur before the main event in December. During the 5-day innovation week, several thematic summits and plenaries will be held with activities including but not limited to panel discussions, keynote speeches, fireside chats, workshops, and networking events. Exhibitions from different participating groups and countries will also run throughout the event. Partners can also host side events running parallel to the main event.

6. Below are some of the summits and side events already planned to take place as part of the Innovation Week:

   i. Youth and Entrepreneurship Summit

   ii. Climate Action Summit

   iii. Skills and Talent Summit

   iv. Commercialisation Summit

   v. Start-up Summit

   vi. 4IR/Digital Transformation Summit

   vii. Entrepreneurial Institutions Workshop

   viii. Student-Led Innovations Summit

   ix. Agri-Tech Summit x. Fin-Tech Summit xi. Public Innovation Summit

7. Besides the thematic summits, the following special programmes and projects are set to be launched at Innovation Week:

   xii. Commonwealth Data Science Partnership

   xiii. Commonwealth Innovation Ecosystem Advisory Council

   xiv. Kenya’s 10-year Innovation Master Plan

   xv. AfDB - Kenya Innovation Fund

8. We, therefore, invite Commonwealth countries and partners to propose initiatives and side events that can be considered for inclusion as part of the weeklong event. We aim to finalise the programme for KIW 2023 by September 2023.

9. We look forward to a great, co-created and inspiring Commonwealth edition of the Kenya Innovation Week as we aspire to unlock our Commonwealth by improving productivity, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, and creating and scaling start-ups and jobs of the future within and beyond our Commonwealth family of 56 nations.