ABOUT PIA

The Presidential Innovation Challenge and Award (PIA) 2024 - 2025 is a KeNIA programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports that intends to develop the entrepreneurial capacity of innovators across the country through scouting, recognising and commercialising of the innovations along priority sectors of the National Government. This will encourage and support young people who are using their innovativeness, creativity and problem-solving skills to make a positive impact on society while becoming economically active

PIA 2024 - 2025

OBJECTIVES

  • Scout and identify most promising innovative ideas and solutions from across the country.
  • Showcase the most promising innovations and startups at the Kenya Innovation Week.
  • Recognise the achievements of the most promising innovators and startups at the Kenya Innovation Week (KIW).
  • Support the commercialisation of the promising innovations through a Presidential accelerator programme.

The Presidential Innovation Award Focuses on the following priority areas

Food Security and Agriculture

Innovations, technologies, and solutions that aim to increase food production, improve the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural practices, and enhance access to nutritious food for all people.

Digital Transformation

Innovations, technologies, and solutions that aim to leverage digital technologies to fundamentally change business processes, improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth.

Healthcare

Solutions that address healthcare challenges in society ranging from prevention, detection, surveillance, diagnosis, response, monitoring of health conditions to health promotion.

Entertainment & Gaming

Innovations, technologies, and solutions that aim to enhance the quality, engagement, and accessibility of entertainment and gaming experiences for consumers.

Climate Action and Green Energy

Innovations, technologies, and solutions that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

PIA 2024 - 2025
CATEGORIES

  • The innovation/start-up must be legally registered in Kenya and its founders must be students in both Public and Private universities in Kenya and supported by member of faculty as a supervisor.(VC's Letter Upload).
  • The applicants must be developing and scaling an innovative product, service, or technology that solves a significant social problem or addresses an unmet need in the market.
  • The innovative product, service or technology must be within the sectors of Digital Transformation, Affordable Healthcare, Food Security and Agriculture, Entertainment and Gaming, and Climate Action and Green Energy.
  • The applicant must have a clear understanding of its market and a viable strategy for customer acquisition and retention.
  • The startup must have a minimum viable product that has been tested and piloted.
  • The applicant must have an intellectual property or proprietary technology that differentiates it from competitors and provides a competitive advantage.
  • The startup must have an active and permanent team with at least 3 members having relevant complementary skills and expertise.
  • The founding members should be youth aged between 18 – 27 with the exception of PWDs (between 18-30).
  • The innovation/startup must not have received any funding or award from the Agency before.
Apply Now
  • The start-up must be legally registered in Kenya and its founders must be Kenyan citizens.
  • The startup must have been in operation for the last three years since registration.
  • The applicant must be developing and scaling an innovative product, service, or technology that solves a significant social problem or addresses an unmet need in the market.
  • The innovative product, service or technology must be within the sectors of Digital Transformation, Affordable Healthcare, Food Security and Agriculture, Entertainment and Gaming, and Climate Action and Green Energy.
  • The applicant must have a clear understanding of its market and a viable strategy for customer acquisition and retention.
  • The applicant must have a minimum viable product that has been tested and piloted.
  • The applicant must have an intellectual property or proprietary technology that differentiates it from competitors and provides a competitive advantage.
  • The applicant must have an active or permanent team with at least 3 members having relevant complementary skills and expertise.
  • The applicant/startup must not have received any funding or award from the Agency before.
  • The founding members should be youth aged between 18 – 35 years with the exception of PWDs (between 18-40) who are out of school.
Apply Now
  • The startup must be legally registered in Kenya and have been in operation for the last five (5) years since registration and its founders must be Kenyan citizens.
  • The startup must be developing and scaling an innovative product, service, or technology that solves a significant social problem or addresses an unmet need in the market.
  • The innovative product, service or technology must be within the sectors of Affordable Healthcare, Food Security and Agriculture, Entertainment and Gaming, Digital Transformation and Climate Action and Green Energy
  • The startup must have a clear understanding of its market and a viable strategy for customer acquisition and retention.
  • The startup must have a minimum viable product that has been tested and piloted.
  • The startup must have an intellectual property or proprietary technology that differentiates it from competitors and provides a competitive advantage.
  • The startup must have an active and permanent team with at least 3 members having relevant complementary skills and expertise.
  • The startup must not have received any funding or award from PIA or the Agency before.
  • The founding members should be youth aged between 18 – 35 with exception to PWDs (between 18-40).
Apply Now
  • The innovation must be legally registered in Kenya and its founders be faculty members in both Public and Private universities or staff in a research institutes.
  • Applicant should have a working prototype or proof-of-concept that demonstrates the viability of the technology.
  • The research output should be innovative, offering a unique solution to a problem and show potential for significant impact on its intended industry or market, such as economic benefits, societal improvements, or environmental sustainability.
  • The innovation should show Potential for commercialization supported by a viable business model.
  • Have a committed team that have relevant complementary skills and expertise to advance the technology from research to market. The startup must have an active and permanent team with at least 3 members having relevant complementary skills and expertise.
  • Have access to networks that can aid in resource mobilization for commercialization or a workplan for securing necessary funding to support the commercialization process.
  • Be participating or have participated in Research to Commercialization Accelerator run by Kenya National Innovation Agency.(letter of admission to the accelerator must be uploaded). Provide for basic details:Name of the applicant, Contact phone number and email, Role in startup, Sex
Apply Now
01

Online Submissions

October 2024

02

Judging & Evaluation

October 2024

03

Final Pitching at KIW

November 2024

04

Awarding at KIW

November 2024

05

Accelerator Programme

January - May 2025

06

Graduation & Partner Linkages

June 2025

BENEFITS OF THE WINNERS