The National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) participated in the 2025 Nairobi International Trade Fair held from the 29th Sept – 5th Oct at the Jamhuri Grounds under the theme “Promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture and Trade Initiatives for Sustainable Economic Growth.” The event brought together ministries, state agencies, private sector enterprises, innovators, entrepreneurs, students, and global partners to showcase cutting-edge capabilities in trade, technology, and innovation.
Dr. David Ngigi, Ag. Director General received the award on behalf of the Commission during the Awards Ceremony. He encouraged the team to seek more excellence and ensure that Kenya achieves the targets set out in the Vision 2030, Bottom-Up Transformation Agenda, Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the STI Priorities. He also used the occasion to engage stakeholders on efforts to strengthen research ethics, enhancing linkages between research, academia and industry, promoting youth-led innovation through mentorship and encouraging collaborations to increase funding through national and international research efforts.
Owing to the immense efforts to avail services to the people, the commitment to make research licensing and regulation efficient and support for innovators, President William Ruto honoured NACOSTI with the trophy for the “Best Innovation and Invention Stand.” The recognition goes a long way in honouring and encouraging Commission staffers to seek more excellence in automation, promotion and advisory, prototyping novel ideas and innovations, as well as creating an enabling environment for enhanced research-to-market linkages.
The Commission used the event to interact with its clients including researchers, students, innovators, private sector players and potential partners, while showcasing its contribution to national growth and development. Those who visited the stand were taken through the innovative approaches put in place to make service delivery more seamless and efficient. These innovations include the Research Information Management System (RIMS) which allows researchers from across the country and the world to access research licences with minimal computing knowledge.
The other critical tool demonstrated at the Fair was the STI Mainstreaming Indicator Tool that allows MDAs to submit their quarterly reports through a portal that makes the process easy and the analysis to inform policy more meaningful. Further, NACOSTI showcased its mandate, services, and contributions to research, capacity building, regulation, and coordination through the partners implementing the STI Priorities instituted by the Commission which attracted much publicity and visibility for the exhibitors.
The recognition at the Nairobi International Trade Fair builds on NACOSTI’s track record in regulations, promotion, coordination and advisories on matters related to RSTI and the impact these have on the people of Kenya. NACOSTI acknowledges the support of its partners, including the National Research Fund (NRF), the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KENIA), universities, innovators and researchers that made this possible.