Young innovators feted by Ruto ahead of global event
By Lucky Oluoch, December 15, 2022Ecobana, the Sh120 million winners of the Hult Global Prize, were honoured on Sunday by President William Ruto during the final day of the Jamhuri Tech and Innovation Summit.
The two-day event, which was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), brought together stakeholders and innovators from various institutions.
Heads of technology companies in the country also participated in the summit whose theme was “Connect, Innovate and Inspire”.
The Ecobana, from St Paul’s University, produces biodegradable sanitary pads made from banana fibre.
President Ruto stated that his administration will continue to collaborate with young innovators such as Ecobana.
Ruto also said he had asked the Ministry of Education to work with Ecobana in efforts to offer free sanitary towels to school-aged children and less privileged women in communities.
“I have asked the Ministry of Education to work with these young innovators on the delivery of our pledge to provide sanitary pads for schools,” he said.
During the presentation, the young innovators said they intend to employ more than 2,000 people to sell over three million sanitary towels and make more than Sh6 billion ($50 million) by 2024.
The entrepreneurs will represent Kenya in the finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next year.
This was after they beat their two competitors – Kazi Tech and Totosci – to secure a position in the global championship finals.
Speaking to People Daily, the CEO of Ecobana Lennox Omondi said they were on a mission to bring about meaningful transformation in society.
“Winning the Entrepreneurship World Cup Kenya proves that we are on a mission to break the cycle of intergenerational period poverty in Kenya and around the world,” he said.
He also said they will continue to create powerful shared experiences and solutions that will spark a movement and turn their dreams of a safe, healthy, educated and empowered future for all, into a reality.
“We will continue to come up with new initiatives that can deeply engage a new generation of changemakers that will continue to catapult our mission even further,” he added.
Ecobana is the brainchild of Omondi, Keylie Ogolla (Chief Operations Officer), Brian Ndung’u (Chief Communication and Marketing Officer), Dullah Shiltone (Chief Financial Officer) and Emanuel Omondi (Chief Technical Officer).
The five won the Sh120 million cash prize after their Ecobana project won in the competition’s finals, which were held in New York on September 20.
Former US President Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker at the event.