Technology Transfer Assistance to Enhance Knowledge Exchange and Technology Transfer between Small and Medium Enterprises and Higher Education Institutions in Nairobi Innovation Ecosystem in Kenya

Abstract

Abstract This survey was conducted as part of a project that seeks to develop a technology transfer assistance model that can effectively bridge the gap existing between technology sources like Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and technology users like Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other firms operating in the Nairobi innovation ecosystem. The project team at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) was one of the grantees in the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) program for the year 2023 that was implemented between January, 2023 and December, 2023. The RISA program was funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) that aims to strengthen research and innovation ecosystems in Africa. The study was anchored on the Theory of Change. The project commenced with a research phase which took place between January and March 2023, with a survey of 1200 SMEs operating within the targeted geographical region. This was followed by in depth interviews with a cross section of stakeholders from higher education institutions, research institutes, and managers from funding organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and advocacy groups to obtain insights on technology development and transfer within the Nairobi innovation ecosystem. The findings of the study indicate a gap in the access and assimilation of new technologies by SMEs, driven by factors that have organizational, regulatory and institutional perspectives. The project team held three stakeholder engagement workshops to disseminate the findings of the survey, deliberated on challenges encountered on technology transfer and knowledge exchange between SMEs and HEIs. As part of capacity building at the Technical University of Kenya, the project team in the month of June 2023 conducted a four day Training of Trainers (TOTs) for forty faculty members on Research to Commercialization (R2C). The TUK faculty trained as TOTs facilitated in training three hundred SMEs who were invited to a six day capacity building training. The SME training covered introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship, business planning and strategy, communication and marketing, digitalization and new product development, business finance, and human resource management. The project team prepared a policy brief, and is championing the creation of a model regional technology hub at TUK, to host incubators, accelerators, crosscutting partnerships and collaborations using a quadruple approach strategy that involves four components of a functional innovation ecosystem; people, technology, capital, and infrastructure.