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China Mobile International (CMI) has launched a four-month innovation programme with the University of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) that will pair student teams with company sponsors and offer the winning team support to take its product to market.
The programme was launched on Monday at the Radisson Blu, Nairobi Arboretum, in the presence of ICT and Digital Economy Principal Secretary John Tanui, according to a statement from the State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy. Student registration closes on November 2, 2026.
How it works
Teams of five students will each be matched with a CMI sponsor for guidance over the four months. The ministry said the programme “seeks to move beyond conventional hackathons by challenging students to develop solutions to real-world problems with measurable impact and the potential to scale.”
Entries can cover cloud computing, artificial intelligence, software engineering, the Internet of Things, data connectivity and big data analytics, as well as digital twins, blockchain, cybersecurity and 5G. An open category will take ideas outside those areas.
Each team must hand in a working prototype, a final report and a ten-minute presentation. Final presentations are set for February 27, 2027. “The top-performing team will receive corporate development support from CMI to advance its solution towards market deployment,” the statement said. It did not put a cash value on that support or say how many teams will be admitted.
Teams are expected to be gender-balanced, a feature the PS welcomed. Only students from the two participating universities are eligible.
Who is involved
The launch was attended by Terry Leung, CMI’s Regional Managing Director for Africa, and Dr Lawrence Nderu, founder and project lead of JHub Africa, which works with the universities to link academic talent with industry-led innovation.
Tanui called for closer ties between industry and universities. The ministry said he “emphasised the importance of connecting university talent with industry expertise, mentorship and opportunities for commercialisation.”
The statement said the initiative aligns with a government agenda that “prioritises digital skills development, innovation, technology entrepreneurship and the growth of a competitive digital economy.”
Engineers asked to register
On the same day, Tanui received a delegation from the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) led by its president, Harrison Keter. In a separate statement, the ministry said the PS “appealed for a deliberate push to have more ICT engineers registered, noting that stronger representation of the ICT discipline within the Institution would deepen the sector’s technical capacity and give digital infrastructure the professional standing it requires.”
The two sides discussed capacity building, mentorship, research and possible programmes to create professional development pathways for graduate engineers in the ICT sector. Tanui pointed to the Affordable Housing Programme, the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks and the digital transformation of the health sector as projects where engineering skills are central.
The IEK’s 33rd Annual International Convention is scheduled for November 24 to 27, 2026, under the theme “Intelligent Systems for Accelerated and Sustainable Growth.”
The Communications Authority has reported that cyber threat events hit 2.7 billion in the July to September quarter. Graduates looking for openings in the sector can browse ICT and engineering vacancies on Job in Kenya.
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