Kenyan innovators bag Ksh. 13 million at the Mozilla Africa Innovation Challenge

Six Keyan innovators have secured grants amounting to Ksh. 13 million following intensive pitching and selection during the inaugural Mozilla Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge held at the Arboretum Park in Nairobi.  

The tech start-ups; Getpayd, Deaf Elimu, and Hali Halisi, and three student innovations; Classify Me, Audred, and Mama Pesa will also get technical assistance to further develop their products and position themselves in the market.

The initiative organized by Mozilla Corporation in collaboration with Nairobi City County Government (NCCG) is designed to promote innovation led by and grounded in the unique needs of users on the African continent. It seeks to identify African tech entrepreneurs/startups and tech students who can benefit from an acceleration programme that will provide; technical support, access to grants, and ultimately, market access for their products.

Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja noted, “Nairobi City County Government is working with Mozilla Africa Mradi to ensure that tech start-ups and innovators get access to grants and are enabled to access venture capital investments locally and globally”.

Mitchell Baker, Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman of Mozilla Corporation observed, “From 2015 Mozilla has distributed over $20 million through fellowships and awards to support individual and collective actions that nurture unique innovations that benefit communities,.

John Omo, the Secretary-General of the African Telecommunication Union (ATU), said, “Advancing Africa’s Digital Economy is at the heart of ATU’s mandate. We work to create harmonized digital economies through standardized policy and regulatory frameworks for the African Region.