Technology startups and the venture capital ecosystem, which transform ideas and fledgling companies into disruptive businesses, are growing in Kenya. Entrepreneurs and the government are increasingly recasting Kenya as a site of local innovation rather than merely a market waiting to be saturated by foreign companies and innovators. There is a growing business and technical community finding ways to adapt to the globalised internet economy while still retaining agency & relevance in the local context. 

In partnership with AFRALTI, Mozilla aims to identify and support African developers, entrepreneurs, and startups that can innovate new products ideas and/or on our current open source products to serve real life needs, or develop new product/product ideas that address real life issues, empower Africans and put them back in control of their online lives. This is in line with Mozilla’s commitment to an internet that promotes civil discourse, human dignity, and individual expression and one that catalyzes collaboration among diverse communities working together for the common good. “Technology that centers human agency means investing in an ecosystem that recognises people don’t need one tech company savior. Instead they need enough really good options to actually have a choice. Mozilla is working alongside other partners to lead this new era and usher in a human-centered internet built to respect people’s agency over their data, their time, and their preferences”. 

AFRALTI as a Pan African Institute, under the partnership shall equip startups with appropriate practical skills and knowledge for addressing today’s socio-economic challenges including training, mentoring, workspace and other related benefits. This will contribute in the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely: No poverty, Quality Education, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure and Sustainable cities and communities. 

The Mozilla Mradi Africa initiative aims to engage over 300 key stakeholders from both public and private sectors in Kenya and across Africa, with deliberate efforts to reach the tech ecosystems in frontier counties. The innovators will be required to build solutions that tackle challenges around the following key themes: Health-tech, E-government, Edu-tech, Fintech, Agri-tech, gaming/creative and cybersecurity, with ethical AI as a cross cutting theme.

The selected innovations will then be supported through grants, investment, technical support, incubation, etc. This shall involve capital injection and venture building services from professionals to guide the innovators to transition their ideas into viable businesses.