Listers, The incubation model got fresh momentum today as the government, through the Kenya ICT Board, announced that it is putting money to support ICT SME's. The incubation facility will be hosted at Nailab and more than 30 start-ups are expected to benefit for a period of 3 years. For more information see below: *Government extends $1.6M support for ICT start-up businesses* * **Pilot incubation program to tap into the robust ICT Enterprise by developing soft business skills and operational support* * **Nairobi, January 24th, 2013…*The Kenya ICT Board, has today launched a pilot of the first government supported ICT based incubation program worth $ 1.6 Million with funding from the International Development Association (IDA). The Information and Communication Technology business incubator pilot will be implemented by NaiLab and will work with at least 30 startups hosted at the incubator and another 100 virtually over a three-year-period in an effort to sustain the concept and create high impact enterprises aimed at growing Kenya’s economy and creating employment. Nailab, a partnership funded by *1% Club* and managed by NaiLab Ltd, won the contract to host the incubator, in a competitive process that saw more than 16 companies bidding. The program’s main goal will be to build a program, support infrastructure and outreach with successes being replicated in other parts of the country. “The growth of Kenya’s economy is pegged on how many profitable businesses we are able to build and sustain. This project displays the government commitment towards supporting SME’s and growing Kenya as an ICT destination,” says the PS, Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Bitange Ndemo. The project is timely as Konza Technology City prepares to transform the ICT investment landscape in Kenya in the next three years. Innovation, a strong talent pool and entrepreneurship will be the cornerstone of the smart city success. The incubation addresses many of the gaps that have been identified in SME high failure rate. These gaps include increasing the capabilities of the entrepreneur in terms of soft skills, technical skills and business skills, business counseling, access to affordable services and facilities, access to SME finance, better linkages with both the academic community and industry, and quicker commercialization of innovations. “This initiative is a public-private-partnership that builds on existing efforts in building an ICT ecosystem to support entrepreneurs towards turning ideas into scalable businesses. Such collaborations have proved to give great results,” said Kenya ICT Board CEO, Paul Kukubo. The incubation facility will have a mix of entrepreneurs in the concept, early and mature stages. The companies to be considered will be less than five-years old, offer ICT-oriented products and their offerings should have an impact on Kenya’s social-economic environment. “Our objective has been and will always be to stimulate innovations and encourage entrepreneurship in Kenya, with the signing of this contract with the Kenya ICT Board; we will be able to reach out to other parts of the country, all grass root problems cannot be solved using ICT, but innovation includes creating new more effective processes and we hope to play our role in that. “We want to make sure that those we will incubate double their turnover within three years,” said Sam Gichuru, the NaiLab, CEO The pilot project will also see Kenya ICT Board and Nailab establish collaborative relationship with relevant organizations and institutions to drive the ICT agenda in the country. “It is important for entrepreneurs to have other value addition other than just capital such as industry knowledge and strong mentorship for their start-up. Establishing a facility to give support services will enable the entrepreneurs get clarity in various areas like target customers, approaches to reach them, infrastructure and how to run their business successfully,” says Mr. Andrew Lewela, Project Manager, BPO/ITes at the Kenya ICT Board. A business incubator avails young enterprises with an environment conducive to accelerate business ideas by availing work spaces, business coaching and mentorship. The Kenyan pilot model is looking at innovative ideas with business potential in ICT. “Our target has never been to have more “techies” /programmers sitting in the space but to have them interact with the farmers, health workers, teacher and matatu drivers and other relevant subsectors of the economy, we need to understand their problems so that we can design market driven solutions,” added Sam Gichuru. * * *About NaiLab* NaiLab is a startup accelerator is a partnership between 1% Club and Nailab ltd ,that offers a three to 12 months entrepreneurship program with focus on growing innovative technology driven ideas, this is done by providing business advice, technical training and support, professional mentoring and coaching, access to market, strategic partnership and most important investors. The NaiLab focuses on early stage business ideas that are likely to have a large social and economic impact, are highly scalable, require minimum investments to prototype and have a strong value proposition. *About Kenya ICT Board* Established as a state corporation in 2007, the Kenya ICT Board’s has been a champion and an active enabler for the adoption and exploitation of ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment. This is in line with making Kenya African premier ICT hub by 2030. * * *Regards,* Phyllis Nyambura Communication Writer Kenya ICT Board Telposta Towers, 12th Floor, Kenyatta Ave P.O. Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya t: + 254-020-2211960/62 | m: + 254 (0) 789396433 | e: pnyambura@ict.go.ke Visit: www.ict.go.ke Become a fan: www.facebook.com/kenyaictboard Follow us on twitter: @kenyaICTboard --------------------- *Our Vision*: Kenya becomes a top 10 ICT hub * Our Mission*: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment * Our Quality Policy*: Kenya ICT Board is committed to consistently deliver quality ICT services and manage projects that support the growth of Information and Communication Technology, to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers. Kenya ICT Board shall comply with all requirements and continually improve the effectiveness of the Quality Management System. Kenya ICT Board leadership shall establish and review quality objectives in line with this policy and ensure commitment of all employees.