Preparing for IASP Nairobi

All eyes are on IASP Luxembourg, IASP’s upcoming 40th World Conference, but behind the scenes work has already begun to prepare the ground for our 2024 event, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya.

IASP CEO Ebba Lund and Director of Communications and Events Francesca Antoniazzi travelled to the Kenyan capital Nairobi last week, to meet with the team led by John Paul Okwiri at local host Konza Technopolis, and check out potential venues and hotels in Nairobi alongside our professional conference organiser, AIM Group International.

The Konza Technopolis project, located outside Nairobi on the main highway to strategic port city Mombasa, is a key pillar of the Kenyan 2030 development vision. Once it is fully completed and at full capacity, Konza will be a major economic driver, positioning Kenya as a leading regional tech hub. Being built as a sustainable smart city, it is expected to accommodate over 240,000 people and 180,000 highly-skilled jobs, and will plant 10 million trees! 

The team were treated to a technical tour of the Konza site, with its cutting-edge HQ building the venue for discussions about the conference and the growing role of innovation in Africa, and were honoured to meet with Cabinet Secretary at Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Eliud Owalo and Principal Secretary Eng. John Tanui, former CEO of Konza Technopolis. They also took the opportunity to meet with other local IASP members: Vice Chancellor Prof. Stephen Gitahi Kiama at the University of Nairobi Science & Technology Park, and Vice Chancellor Ndirangu Kioni of Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) Science and Technology Park, who both play key roles building Kenya’s knowledge economy and developing the regional innovation ecosystem.

The visit was also an opportunity to sit down for in-depth conversations with Josephine Ndambuki and the Konza team, who will be working closely with IASP in the months to come to make the conference happen and make sure international delegates get to experience the best Kenya and its innovation ecosystem has to offer.

IASP CEO Ebba Lund commented: “After a week of meetings and great conversations to prepare for next year’s IASP world conference in Nairobi, Kenya, I can confirm it is a rich environment for our World Conference. I look forward to working with our local host to deliver a magical experience for all IASP members and other innovation professionals from around the world. 'Asante sana,’ and as they say in Luxembourg, where we’ll meet for this year’s world conference, “let’s make it happen!””

To learn more about Konza Technopolis, visit https://konza.go.ke/