Since the beginning of this year, the government of Kenya through the Ministry of ICT has gone out of its way to support tech startups in the country. The plan to launch a body that will oversee the identification, enrollment, incubation and funding for such startups have been in discussion by the government throughout the year. Well, those discussions have finally led to the creation of the White Box, an incubation hub the government will use to support local startups.
One of the many mandates White Box will have is to identify a startup whose idea or product are in-line with the agenda of bringing government services closer to the citizens. Ideas or products that make government operations run efficiently and effectively in a cost-cutting manner.
White Box will be driven by a professional team drawn from techies, innovators, lawyers, and academicians. They will come together to one discussion table, brainstorm their ideas, and see how they can help startups that have been enrolled in the program. All the startups enrolled into the program will be supported towards creating products and services that will improve on the socio-economic status of the local population.
The Ministry’s CS, Joe Mucheru, said that White Box goal is to bring innovative tech startups under the same roof, where then can network, brainstorm, and complement on one another. That way any products they develop, will have gone through many eyes and contributed to many ‘expert’ brains. Then, they can be easily and readily deployed into market with minimal or no bugs. Other than being a platform to incubate startup, White Box will also be offering lessons on entrepreneurship and project management for commercial purposes.
Kenyans (and I guess the entire world, really) can have a look at White Box at this link.
