KSh100 Billion Bioeconomy Plan: Kenya Unveils 10-Year Strategy to Turn Biology Into Jobs, Wealth and Business Opportunities

By Gedion Nzyoki -

NAIROBI, Kenya | August 24, 2026 — Kenya has unveiled its National Bioeconomy Strategy 2026–2036, setting an ambitious target of mobilising KSh100 billion by 2030 to accelerate investment, innovation, industrialisation and job creation from the country’s biological resources.

Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa Centre Director Niall O’Connor and other industry stakeholders pose for a photo after unveiling the National Bioeconomy Strategy 2026–2036. Photo: Stockholm Environment Institute Press Unit

The strategy, launched in Nairobi on Monday at the Iconic Pullman Hotel, provides a national framework for transforming biological resources—including plants, animals, microorganisms and organic waste—into higher-value products, industries and economic opportunities.

Speaking during the launch, Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak said the strategy was designed to move Kenya beyond research and innovation towards commercialisation and tangible socioeconomic benefits.

“I've always said that if science is to be beneficial, we must be able to do the socialisation of science. It's not just science for the sake of it, but how will this science transform our situations?” Prof. Abdulrazak said.

Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak delivers his remarks during the launch of Kenya’s National Bioeconomy Strategy 2026–2036 in Nairobi on Monday. Photo: Stockholm Environment Institute Press Unit

He said the bioeconomy should play a central role in Kenya’s transition towards a knowledge- and innovation-led economy, with stronger links between research institutions, industry, government and communities.

Kenya’s Economy Is Already Heavily Bio-Based

Giving his remarks, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa Centre Director Niall O’Connor said Kenya does not need to create a bioeconomy from scratch because biological activities are already deeply embedded in the economy.

“The opportunity before us is therefore not to start a bioeconomy, but to make it more productive, more innovative, more sustainable and, of course, more investable,” O’Connor said.

Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa Centre Director Niall O’Connor delivers his remarks during the launch of Kenya’s National Bioeconomy Strategy 2026–2036 in Nairobi on Monday. Photo: Stockholm Environment Institute Press Unit

He noted that agriculture alone accounts for about 24 per cent of Kenya’s GDP and provides livelihoods for roughly 72 per cent of Kenyans, while bioenergy supplies an estimated 68 per cent of the country’s energy demand.

SEI’s analysis, he added, suggests that agriculture, fisheries, forestry, food processing, natural products, bioenergy and other bio-based activities collectively account for approximately 40 per cent of Kenya’s GDP.

“So, the bioeconomy is already there. We simply need to work with it and unlock its full potential,” O’Connor said.

KSh2 Billion Facility to Support 200 Innovations

The strategy proposes a KSh2 billion Bioeconomy Commercialisation and Scale-Up Facility aimed at supporting at least 200 innovations from proof of concept through to scale-up by 2036.

It also proposes a national investment pipeline to track enterprises as they move from the pilot stage towards investment readiness, with a target of at least 1,000 investment-ready bioeconomy projects by 2036.

The measures are intended to address one of the biggest challenges facing Kenya’s innovation ecosystem: moving promising research and products beyond pilot projects into commercially viable enterprises.

O’Connor said funding research alone was not enough if innovations could not survive beyond the pilot stage.

“The National Bioeconomy Strategy is therefore extremely important. It provides Kenya with a common framework for moving from biological resources to innovation, enterprise development, industrialisation, finance and, ultimately, markets,” he said.

Government Seeks Stronger Private-Sector Financing

Prof. Abdulrazak said Kenya must reduce its dependence on donor funding for research and innovation and increase domestic financing, particularly from banks, financial institutions and private investors.

He revealed that the country currently spends about 0.78 per cent of GDP on research, while approximately 74 per cent of research financing is donor-driven.

“That has got to change. That's why we are looking at internal financing. I'm very glad that the financial banks, institutions and foundations are around the table,” he said.

The PS said the government is seeking to increase research and development financing to 1 per cent and eventually 2 per cent of GDP, with a long-term ambition of allocating at least KSh1 trillion over the next decade towards research and development, science, technology and innovation.

He urged financial institutions to work with the government and researchers to develop financing mechanisms capable of supporting innovations through commercialisation.

From Research To Commercialisation

The government is also seeking to change how research and innovation are developed by focusing more closely on market needs and societal challenges.

The PS cited the Kenya Grand Challenge, launched during the Science, Research and Innovation for Society Week in May, as one of the initiatives intended to promote demand-driven research.

“We must be able to change. Just not doing research for the sake of it and getting the results, gathering dust on the shelf, or having innovations without doing the scale-up and scale-out or moving innovation and research to commercialisation,” he said.

Through SEI’s Advancing Bioeconomy Development in Kenya (ABDK) programme, more than 70 Kenyan bio-based micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have been engaged in efforts to identify pathways for business growth.

The programme has focused on challenges including access to finance, markets, technology, regulation and management skills.

O’Connor said Kenya has opportunities to expand into higher-value food products, biological and agricultural inputs, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, biomaterials, sustainable textiles, insect-based foods, forest products and modern bioenergy products such as biochar.

Strategy To Support Food Security and Climate Resilience

Prof. Abdulrazak said the bioeconomy strategy would also be critical in addressing food insecurity, food safety, climate change and climate resilience.

He described it as unacceptable that Kenya remains food insecure more than six decades after independence despite having the scientific and biological resources needed to improve food production.

The strategy, he said, should help Kenya harness science and biology to improve agricultural productivity while strengthening climate resilience and inclusive economic growth.

The PS said the government was considering bringing institutions working in different areas of biology under a stronger coordination framework, potentially including the establishment of a major centre of excellence and eventually a national bioeconomy institute.

He cited institutions involved in livestock, vaccines, agriculture, forestry, environmental research and other biological fields as part of the wider ecosystem that could contribute to the development of Kenya’s bioeconomy.

SEI Commits To Supporting Implementation

O’Connor said SEI would continue supporting Kenya’s bioeconomy agenda through research, evidence and partnerships.

He said SEI’s work over nearly a decade had included mapping bioeconomy activities, bringing Kenyan and Swedish partners together and convening bioeconomy trade fairs where more than 70 businesses have shared experiences and explored opportunities.

He cautioned, however, that the government could not implement the strategy alone, calling for researchers, entrepreneurs and financial institutions to play their part.

“Researchers must move beyond knowledge production towards the commercialisation of knowledge,” he said, adding that financial institutions should develop financing mechanisms suited to the risks and longer time horizons associated with bioeconomy investments.

For Kenya, the next challenge will be turning the strategy’s ambitious targets into actual investments, commercially viable enterprises, jobs and sustainable value chains.