National Innovation Agency chairman Reuben Marwanga has said there is a need for innovation to be taken down to the county government to help the youth.
“It is through innovation that the country is going to develop. We, therefore, need to move innovations to the counties. We have to build innovations hubs in our counties.”
Speaking at Gekomoni Technical Secondary School, Marwanga said the move will enable the youth in various learning institutions to use their skills in establishing innovations.
During the event, Marwanga handed over a grant of Sh. 800,000 to solar innovators in the county in the recently completed innovation contest across the country.
The innovators are in the final process of completing a solar-powered cooking system in the school, a bid to reduce the use of firewood and conserve the environment.
Erastus Abuga and Chris Nyairo, both alumni of Gekomoni Technical Secondary School, are determined to help the community cut down cooking fuel costs and improve the health of the cooks in various institutions by innovating alternative clean energy cooking boilers.
“We came up with the idea after realizing that most of our people’s health is worsening because of the type of fuel they use. That is why we have decided to improve the cooking systems in our learning institutions and also try to maintain the health of our people,” the innovators said.
Innovation CEO Tonny Omwansa said the agency is increasing the innovation sensitization and getting partners to support them at the national and county level.
“We are trying as much as possible to attract partners to support this program and we want to assure our innovators that the policy is appropriate at both the national and institutional level.”
Omwansa further noted that the agency will keep on giving annual awards to various innovators, in a bid to recognize the efforts made in the innovation field.
“The awards we give recognizing, celebrating and supporting innovations that are focusing on the big four agenda and, we are going around various innovation projects and acknowledge the innovators for what they are doing,” Omwansa said.
He indicated that the agency’s commitment is to connect the growing innovations to more partners to help the innovators generate ideas that develop the country.
By Darlington Mose
Comment here