Nairobi, Kenya, 2 November 2018
The WhiteBox initiative, a scheme enabling people across Kenya to submit innovative ideas to the Government, was launched by Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru at Connected Summit in October 2018.
The main objective of this initiative is to create a channel that will:
- Support and enable the development of a robust and sustainable technology entrepreneurship ecosystem across the country.
- Provide a one-stop-shop platform for anyone who wants to present, share and sell an invention, service or product.
WhiteBox will be driven by a professional team drawn from technologists, innovators, lawyers, and academicians. They will come together at one discussion table and see how they can help start-ups that have been enrolled in the program. All selected start-ups will be supported in their endeavour to create products and services that will improve the socio-economic well-being of the local population.
One of the mandates WhiteBox will have is to identify start-ups whose ideas or products are in-line with the agenda of bringing government services closer to the citizens. Preference will be given to ideas that focus on the Government Big 4 Agenda: Affordable Housing, Manufacturing, Food Security and Universal Health.
The WhiteBox initiative will be embedded into the Constituency Innovation Hubs that are being deployed in partnership with Avanti. With over a thousand sites being connected across Kenya, young entrepreneurs will be able to use the facilities to access the WhiteBox portal. ICT Cabinet Secretary, Joe Mucerhu, said the incubation hub will link the innovators with various government agencies.
