EU Applauds Kenya for Supporting Innovations

The European Union (EU) has praised Kenya’s government for creating an environment that encourages small and medium-sized businesses to innovate.

Henriette Geiger, EU Ambassador to Kenya, says the government has made it easier for SMEs to flourish through incubation.

According to Geiger, numerous SMEs are developing technologies to solve the country’s climate change concerns through the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre (KCIC).

The Ambassador stated that the government is closing the job gap among the country’s young people through such endeavors.

“These interventions are contributing to employment creation and facilitating investments in green and climate-related SMEs,” she said.

She stated that KCIC’s business incubators will assist many young people in starting agri-businesses.

“We want to prove that agriculture can yield a sustainable living income and agriculture can be attractive to young people. We want to make agriculture sexy again here in Kenya,” she said.

During this year’s World Tourism Day Celebrations in Kisumu on Wednesday, Geiger stated that the EU has been at the forefront of supporting KCIC.

“We at the EU, Kenyan delegation, have been supporting KCIC, through our agribiz program since 2020,” she said.

The Ambassador stated that more than 1,000 youth and women-led agri-business groups had been involved in the program. They provide startup financing, grants, and loan services to help them scale up their innovation companies.

Geiger was pleased to see most of the groups financed by the EU under the program presenting their creative items in the exhibition tents.

She claims that tourism is evolving around the world and that Kenya must understand the needs of tourists by investing in innovations.

“We don’t want tourism to destroy the environment so we are looking for innovations to spur tourism growth in the country,” she said.

According to Geiger, providing young people with new options in agriculture, green tourism, and tourism will help them develop and flourish.