Tuesday 24 February 2026
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise Division, Prof. Leonidah Kerubo, chairs discussions on the commercialisation of the garlic extracts meat preservation innovation with a team from Kenya Development Corporation led by Ms Mbatha Mbithi, Deputy Director Research, Policy and Innovation (left). The University’s Director of Innovation and Intellectual Property Prof. Maina Wagacha (right) and the innovator, Dr. Lucy Njue (second right) of the Faculty of Agriculture also attended the talks held on Tuesday 24 February 2024 at the RIE offices on the 15 th Floor of the University of Nairobi Towers.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Enterprise (DVC-RIE), Prof. Leonidah Kerubo today hosted a high-level engagement between the University of Nairobi and the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) to unlock the commercialisation pathway for a promising home-grown innovation: a garlic extract technology for natural meat preservation.
The meeting held at the DVC’S office in the University of Nairobi Towers reaffirmed the University’s commitment to moving research beyond publications into impactful, revenue- generating products that benefit industry and society. Ms Mbatha Mbithi, Deputy Director Research, Policy and Innovation represented KDC at the talks accompanied by Mr Robert Chesire, a key facilitator of the University innovation. The University’s Director of Innovation and Intellectual Property Management, Prof. Maina Wagacha and staff from the Division also attended the meeting.
Promoting innovation commercialisation
The innovation owner, Dr Lucy Njue of the Faculty of Agriculture, has worked closely with the Intellectual Property Management Office (IPMO) through the innovation commercialization process. The University, through the RIE Division, has invested about KSh 4.5 million in the technology for prototype development and patent protection and is now seeking to conduct a market feasibility study in partnership with KDC. Kenya Development Corporation is a government development finance institution (DFI) whose mandate includes supporting innovations to create employment and reduce the export of Kenyan intellectual property for foreign commercialization. Mr Chelule emphasized that a structured feasibility study will assess market demand, competition, engineering requirements, and strategic partnerships around the technology as key indicators of commercialisation success before releasing it into the market.
Strengthening the Innovation Culture at UoN
The DVC outlined a broader transformation agenda within the RIE Division aimed at building a robust innovation ecosystem supported by strategic partnerships and grounded in an institutional mindset of innovation, policy influence, and enterprise creation from University research. The partnership with KDC places garlic-extracts meat preservation innovation firmly within a strategic national development focus.
The two entities will continue holding structured collaboration to exploit multi-agency funding pathways to ensure successful innovation commercialization.