KIEP SKIES Project

Strengthening Kenya’s Innovation Ecosystem (SKIES) is a sub-component under Component 1 of the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP), funded by the World Bank Group and implemented by the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry (MITI). Managed by Spineberg and E4Impact, SKIES aims to enhance the support infrastructure for Kenya's innovation ecosystem, promoting sustainable economic growth and job creation.

As part of KIEP SKIES, Sote Hub is implementing an 8-month project aimed at supporting 40 startups. This project will build the capacity of these startups through boot camps, workshops, coaching, mentorship, field trips, exploration trips, funding roundtables, and networking events for partner engagement and market linkage. Startups will receive targeted technical support in areas such as licensing, patenting, branding, copyrighting, and KEBS certification (Kenya Bureau of Standards). Verification will be based on participation records, toolkit documentation, event feedback, and the implementation of technical support.

Sectors of focus

• Agriculture
• Digitization
• Manufacturing

Overall Objective

To increase innovation and productivity by building the capacity of 40 startups operating in the Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Digital sectors.

Specific objectives

1. Empower Startups: Empower 40 startups in the Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Digital sectors by fostering collaboration and integration with key players through a targeted business development program and public-private partnerships, ultimately boosting their marketability and expansion.
2. Strengthen Sote Hub: Enhance Sote Hub's capability to achieve the objectives of this project by executing performance plans and establishing precise performance metrics to monitor and assess progress effectively.

Expected results

• 40 new innovations developed.
• 40 innovators trained.
• A market-fit toolkit developed.
• A business development curriculum developed.
• A robust learning management system developed.
• 40 new jobs created.
• A minimum annual revenue growth of 10%.
• 3 senior Sote Hub managers trained.
• A Monitoring and Evaluation infrastructure (software) developed.

Main activities

1. Stakeholder Mobilization.
2. Innovation challenge; Startup Selection.
3. Capacity-building workshops and mentorship programs.
4. #Nocode : Online presence is important for every business. Through Nocode, all entrepreneurs will be supported to build business websites. They will also be taken through digital marketing strategies and graphic design for website content creation through Canva.
5. African Blue Invest Summit.
6. To enhance Sote Hub's ability to meet the project's objectives, we will implement performance plans and establish precise performance metrics for effective monitoring and assessment through;
• Conducting leadership workshops and executive coaching sessions for senior management.
• Developing a robust Learning Management System and a market-fit toolkit.
• Creating a Monitoring and Evaluation software.
7. Graduation Summit.

Outputs

1. 40 new innovations developed.
2. Increase in annual revenue by at least 10% for each startup.
3. 40 new jobs created.
4. 40 individuals trained, with at least 30% representation of either gender.

Economic alignment

The project aligns with Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), particularly in Agriculture, MSMEs, and the Digital & Creative Economy.