TheFactor-Y, UoN, USIU, and NACOSTI partner to foster innovation of intellectual property
TheFactor-Y has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Nairobi (UoN), United States International University-Africa (USIU), and the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI).
This collaboration aims to harness Kenya’s innovation potential by enhancing the commercialization of intellectual property (IP) and fostering innovation-driven growth in key sectors.
The partnership is anchored on the shared recognition of the transformative power of research and innovation in driving sustainable development.
The collaboration emphasizes the importance of aligning academia, industry, and government to accelerate the translation of research outputs into viable commercial solutions. Key areas of collaboration include biotechnology, renewable energy, water and sanitation, and agribusiness.
Kenya’s innovation ecosystem faces significant hurdles, including limited funding, weak linkages between research institutions and industry, and policy gaps in intellectual property management.
Many innovations, particularly in academia, fail to progress beyond the conceptual stage due to a lack of commercialization pathways.
Speaking during the signing of the collaboration, TheFactor-Y’s Business Development Director Andre Varma noted, “Our Company-Building as a Service (CBaaS) model offers a disruptive solution to these challenges. By transferring an IP to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under UK law, we provide global investor access, robust IP protection, and risk-free pathways to commercialization at our best ability. This partnership represents a transformative step in unlocking the untapped potential of Kenya’s research and innovation sectors.”
TheFactor-Y offers a unique approach to turning intellectual property into thriving businesses, empowering institutional and individual innovators to take their ideas to market through a streamlined, supportive framework.
It offers an alternative to traditional venture capital-financed company building, and serves as a bridge between academic pursuits and real-world technological advancements, emphasizing a blend of academia and practical technology to pioneer groundbreaking innovations allowing universities to utilize and realize their cutting-edge innovation, without having to get involved operationally.
Moreover, innovators receive support to scale and commercialize solutions that address pressing societal challenges.
The partnership will also mobilize resources to support innovation and the commercialization of IP assets, transform research into impactful products and services and assist with funding to support innovations with patentable outcomes.
Through these collaborations, TheFactor-Y will prioritize identifying and commercializing dormant patents held by inventors, start-ups, and institutions to unlock the untapped potential of idle IPs.
Proceeds from these projects will be deployed to funding of future initiatives, creating a self-sustaining model for innovation growth.
Leveraging its vast technical expertise in intellectual property ecosystems across the world, TheFactor-Y, through CBaaS, will help partner institutions explore opportunities to scale innovations across the East African Community (EAC).
TheFactor-Y will offer innovators financial, advisory services and market-entry support to enable them to commercialize their technologies regionally.
The collaboration is expected to catalyze Kenya’s innovation landscape by providing innovators with access to global networks and funding opportunities, monetizing dormant IPs to create sustainable funding models for future research and development initiatives, and strengthening Kenya’s position as a regional hub for innovation and technology transfer.
