The South Eastern and Metropolitan Innovation Week 2026 has been launched to strengthen grassroots innovation and connect local innovators with markets, investment, technology and other support needed to turn ideas into sustainable enterprises.

The initiative, organised by EmpServe Kenya in collaboration with the Association of Countrywide Innovation Hubs (ACIH), brings together innovators, policymakers, universities, development partners and businesses across Kajiado, Nairobi, Machakos, Makueni and Kitui.

Themed 'Innovation as a Catalyst for Sustainable Communities,' the programme focuses on three areas: green economy and sustainability innovation; digital transformation, technology and the future of work; and the creative and cultural (orange) economy.

ACIH Chair Savio Wambugu said the programme is intended to move innovation beyond ideas and demonstrations by creating pathways to commercialisation.

“Innovation does not begin in a boardroom. It begins with a problem, an idea, and someone courageous to say, I can solve this,” Wambugu said.

The programme has identified priority value chains including e-commerce and digital trade, climate-smart agriculture, apiculture, renewable energy and green technology, eco-tourism and cultural heritage, fodder and dairy, and digital arts and creative economy.

According to the programme brief, the initiative aims to catalyse partnerships and investment, facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building, support early-stage startups and create platforms for multi-stakeholder dialogue.

Engineer Anthony Sang, Head of Construction Operations Management at Konza Technopolis Development Authority, said Konza would help provide a pathway through which innovations can progress from grassroots ideas to scalable enterprises and markets.

The Innovation Week is being implemented through a series of activities running from September to November, including regional activations, countywide boot camps, an online innovation challenge and an Innovation Summit on November 20.

At the launch hosted by Riara University, students demonstrated locally developed technologies, including Nile Flow, an AI-powered e-commerce platform connecting African vendors with consumers.

The students said the platform began operations in July and had attracted 22 vendors, 30 users and 46 installations.

Organisers said the initiative seeks to build a stronger innovation pipeline by linking communities where problems originate with universities, innovation hubs, government infrastructure, private-sector demand and capital.

The programme is aligned with Kenya’s broader focus on innovation, climate action and job creation under Vision 2030 and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).