One-stop-shop online platform aims to mimic innovation hotspots like Silicon Valley
The African Academy of Sciences in Nairobi, Kenya, launched an online platform this week that aims to connect innovators with opportunities for funding and scale-up assistance.
The Grand Challenges Africa Innovation Network was launched on 4 June in a virtual webinar.
It is a “safe space” where African innovators can engage with technology transfer offices, industry players, government innovation desks and funders, says Moses Alobo, manager of Grand Challenges Africa, a AAS-managed innovation grant programme. “Our hope is that out of those interactions we will spawn some useful collaborations,” Alobo says.
The idea is to mimic innovation hotspots like Silicon Valley where all the support needed for innovations to thrive can be found in a small geographical space. Alobo notes.
The platform is web-based to bridge the vast distances between innovators and opportunities on the African continent, he adds. “If you are seated in Nairobi, Kampala or Abidjan, you are alone."