Monetising heritage: Plan to turn ancestral knowledge into marketable IP
Indigenous knowledge offers something that modern innovation often lacks - connection to nature and culture...
✨ Key Highlights
Kenya is set to host its inaugural International Investment Conference and Trade Fair on Indigenous Knowledge Intellectual Assets (IKIA) in April 2026 in Murang’a County. This event aims to commercialize ancestral knowledge and promote indigenous crops.
- The conference, organized by the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), will bring together farmers, researchers, policymakers, and investors to explore business opportunities in indigenous knowledge.
- Edwin Abonyo, Chair of the NMK Board of Directors, stated that indigenous knowledge offers unique, sustainable solutions not easily replicated.
- The initiative aligns with Kenya’s Vision 2030 Fourth Medium-Term Plan (2023–2027) and the National Government’s Heritage-Based Enterprises initiative.
- The NMK’s Indigenous Knowledge Documentation and Digitisation (IK DoDi) Project has been implemented in 13 counties, with plans to cover all 47 counties, documenting and digitizing indigenous knowledge intellectual assets.
- A landmark High Court ruling in November 2025 decriminalized the traditional exchange of indigenous seeds, a victory for the approximately 90 percent of smallholder farmers relying on farmer-managed seed systems.
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Kenya Launches Ksh9.1B Lamu Runway, Plans Indigenous IP Fair and UDA Leadership School - January 2026
The Kenyan and U.S. governments have launched a Ksh9.1 billion runway expansion project at Kenya Navy Base Manda Bay in Lamu, aiming to enhance regional peace and security operations. Separately, Kenya is set to host its first International Investment Conference and Trade Fair on Indigenous Knowledge Intellectual Assets (IKIA) in Murang’a County in April 2026. This conference is designed to commercialize ancestral knowledge and promote indigenous crops. In the political sphere, the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party plans to establish a political leadership school. To facilitate this, a UDA delegation led by Secretary General Hassan Omar Hassan is currently in China studying the Communist Party of China's (CPC) expertise in cadre training and grassroots mobilization.
