Thirteen counties are set to benefit from a national government programme aimed at safeguarding, commercializing, and protecting Kenya’s indigenous knowledge and intellectual assets.
Under the National Products Industry (NPI) programme, the government is collaborating with county administrations to establish, promote, and add value to indigenous cultural knowledge, while strengthening legal protection for local intellectual property.
The initiative targets traditional foods and cuisines, medicinal knowledge and local remedies, indigenous technologies, heritage sites, cultural tourism, performing arts, and the broader creative economy.
A key pillar of the programme is the Indigenous Knowledge Innovation Bank, a national digital repository that documents and preserves counties’ cultural and natural assets. The documentation and digitization project has already begun, currently being implemented in the 13 counties during the first phase.
Speaking in Naivasha during the Governors’ Consultative Roundtable, Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, Arts and Heritage Hannah Cheptumo said the pilot phase will benefit Garissa, Kakamega, Kericho, Kilifi, Kisii, Makueni, Marsabit, Murang’a, Narok, Siaya, Tharaka Nithi, Turkana, and Vihiga.
Ms. Cheptumo said the programme will be rolled out to all 47 counties, with 20 counties earmarked for the second phase and a further 14 in the third cohort. She noted that the broader objective is to promote heritage-based enterprises and strengthen indigenous product value chains at both national and county levels.
The Cabinet Secretary added that funding will be supported through County Aggregation and Industrial Parks, in line with the revised Cultural Enterprises Act of 2018, which mandates the government to promote and protect national and cultural expressions.
As part of the rollout, the CS said the 13 counties will showcase their cultural products and intellectual assets at the inaugural International Investment Conference and Trade Fair, scheduled to take place in Murang’a from April 21 to 23.
Ms. Cheptumo said the forum will bring together local communities, custodians of indigenous knowledge, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and local and international investors to exchange ideas and unlock investment opportunities. She said the initiative is expected to curb the long-standing trend of Kenyans seeking benefits from indigenous knowledge abroad, particularly in the medicinal sector, by strengthening local ownership and commercialization.
Garissa Governor Nathif Jama, representing the Council of Governors at the forum, welcomed the programme, saying it offers counties a practical platform to monetize heritage-based enterprises for the benefit of local communities.
Governor Jama said counties possess vast but underutilized biodiversity and cultural heritage, which, if properly developed, could generate significant economic opportunities. From indigenous knowledge on medicines, local delicacies, cultural performances, and weather forecasting know-how, he noted that the conference will present a formal setting for counties to showcase their knowledge to investors and unlock economic potential.
Jama added that the initiative will promote fair benefit-sharing arrangements, safeguard cultural heritage, and protect intellectual property at the community level. He further said the programme will ensure grassroots innovations such as natural products, crafts, performances, and traditional foods are protected, processed, branded, and certified for export markets. He urged implementers to prioritize youth and women, who constitute an estimated 60 per cent of actors in the cultural and natural products value chain.
Evans Talasha, the National Coordinator of the Natural Products Industry Initiative, said Kenya could unlock more than Sh230 billion in the long run by strategically investing in indigenous knowledge. He noted that developing local cultural and medicinal knowledge would also help reduce the country’s reliance on imported natural-based products, including medicines, by meeting domestic demand through local solutions.
By Erastus Gichohi
