NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul, 25 — Thirteen young scientists from across East Africa have completed an intensive 10-day entrepreneurship boot camp, transforming laboratory research into investor-ready businesses aimed at tackling some of the region’s biggest challenges in agriculture, food security, public health and green manufacturing. The researchers, most of them master’s and PhD students or recent graduates, showcased their innovations during the Biobased Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (BIEB) organised by BioInnovate Africa at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Duduville Campus in Nairobi. The final pitch event saw participants present commercially viable ventures to a panel of judges, investors and industry experts, with between seven and ten of the most promising projects expected to receive seed funding and continued mentorship.
Speaking after the event, BioInnovate Africa Manager Julius Ecuru said the annual programme is designed to bridge the long-standing gap between academic research and the private sector by equipping young scientists with entrepreneurial skills. “This boot camp is an initiative by BioInnovate Africa that we organise every year. We select participants from universities, research institutes and private companies within our network.
They are mostly young people—master’s students, PhD students or recent graduates,” Ecuru said. This year’s cohort comprised 13 innovators selected from 54 applications submitted across the BioInnovate Africa network. Although 15 participants were initially selected, two were unable to attend.
Notably, women dominated the cohort, with eight of the 13 participants being female. The boot camp brought together innovators from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while Rwanda and South Sudan were not represented this year despite being part of the programme’s regional network. According to Ecuru, applicants are selected based on four key criteria: originality of the innovation, a strong scientific foundation, commercial potential and the commitment of the team behind the idea.
“We mostly look for an idea that is innovative, stems from scientific research and has potential for business,” he said. Unlike conventional research conferences, the programme focuses on turning scientific discoveries into market-ready products capable o…
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