Don sets up innovation hub to create digital solutions for SMEs

What you need to know:

  • Dr Ratemo uses his digital hub to spur economic growth

Dr Ratemo Makiya is the founder and managing director of iCons Hub, an innovation centre and co-working space for researchers, innovators, consultants, entrepreneurs and students in Kisii County.

He is the director of electronic (e)-Learning and lecturer at Kisii University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering, two master’s degrees in information science and quantitative research methods, and a PhD in Information Technology (IT).

The passionate father of four has enrolled for a third master’s degree in entrepreneurship and innovations management.

He sees a promising future in innovation hubs and hopes to lead an integration, expansion and growth of such incubators to spur the growth of small and medium entreprises (SMEs),while creating jobs for the young people.

What is a co-working space and how does Icon Hub fit into this aspect?

A co-working space is a neutral office where people can walk in and work independently on different projects, or in groups on the same projects. This is different from a typical office because users that share this space are neither serving the same company nor getting paid by the same employer.

Icons Hub is therefore a non-profit, co-working space offering young innovators a conducive environment to mould their ideas to fruition and unlock their potential with the support of mentors and investment partners among others. It also organises incubation training programmes, both online and offline, for entrepreneurs and young professionals.

What’s the motivation behind it?

Foremost, it was the urge to give back to the community.  Icons Hub is strategically located near my birthplace so I can train and mentor young people from my home town of Kisii. With my IT background, I have an overwhelming passion to disrupt existing ways of doing things using emerging technological solutions.

I therefore, founded the hub to offer a serene working space with state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure as an enabler. My dream was for every innovation to have a strong component of ICT, because as we look to commercialise, one needs technology to be visible and spur growth.

Enumerate  some of  iCon hub’s achievements.

Since the hub became operational 14 months ago, it has since exceeded my expectations. Initially, I thought it would be most relevant to young people in ICT because that’s my bias, but it has taken a broader dimension; offering an opportunity to digitally - marginalised youth to access internet, power, devices, technical support and a conducive environment to learn, receive mentorship, innovate, research and even access job opportunities online.

It has also created an opportunity for professionals, especially from the university, to give back to the society by participating in our events, thereby infusing useful scientific knowledge they generate into the mentees.

The hub has grown to the level where college students come for industrial internship. So far, more than 50 undergraduates have benefited. Currently, we have 20 attachés who participate in building practical solutions, unlike in other places where trainees are turned into clerks. 

What are some of the products that the hub has generated?

We are currently working towards actualising more than 100 innovative ideas that are at various stages between ideation and commercialisation. The flagship projects that have reached commercialisation stage include, e-Bodaboda Rides, e-Boda Deliveries and Iconz Errands.

They will provide shared rides, delivery services and handle petty transactions like company registration. The public transport sector is at the heart of development. The projects  have many opportunities that will go a long way in boosting socio-economic growth in the lake region  and beyond.

We’re also developing digital solutions around sustainable food systems. These include mapping idle land held for speculative reasons and placing it in the hands of those who can lease such spaces for constructive use. There’s another upcoming platform where simple farm equipment can be shared to reduce the cost of production.

Similarly, we will be connecting people who have surplus food and willing to give in support of lunch programmes in our local primary schools as a way of keeping our children in school. Other products include Icons Ichiro for extending open air markets into virtual space, Icons Escapades for promoting local tourism among other solutions developed by the youth.

What is the research component of the organisation?

Innovation and research go together. Research guides product development at different stages for success. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel or simply imagine things and end up rolling out solutions that won't work. Time is money and doing things for the sake of it is a waste of valuable time for young people. Research is therefore a critical component.

Most of the professionals who offer free mentorship services to incubates at the hub are drawn from academia and always critically question the ideas they are invited to help to shape. These scholars often call for systematic inquiry into certain aspects to inform the way forward. Also, as the ideas mature, research is conducted to guide such aspects as pricing models and lay bare other market dynamics.

Being a non-profit establishment, how sustainable is this space?

My original idea was to develop viable innovations that can sustain the hub. The challenge is that the ideas take up to five years to mature and make profit, and that needs immense resources at the onset to admit the 100 mentees to work on their ideas or those crafted for them.

Privately-owned incubators are therefore extremely rare to find and sustainability is indeed the biggest challenge we face as Icons Hub at this early stage. It’s worse when the target is digitally marginalised youth, located far from the capital city where the heartbeat of the innovation ecosystem is steadier.  Financial support is, therefore, needed and we’re looking for partners. Icons Hub is now registered by the Association of Startups and SMEs Enablers in Kenya (Assek), having vetted and recognised the value of what we are doing.

What is the future of hubs?

In some countries, hubs are as big as shopping malls, a walk through presents you with thousands of ideas at various stages with great developers disrupting systems. We’re at a bad place as an innovation ecosystem and it’s so unfortunate for our country.

Incubators and accelerators are designed to offer practical processes to turn an idea into market-ready products. We need to have as many hubs as colleges. Technology hubs, SMEs mentorship programmes, incubators, accelerators and all manner of business enablers are critical to society.

We are making advances with organisations such as Assek that voice the need to reconfigure our systems and make compassionate appeals to government and other stakeholders to act. The future is hubs, but it has to be organised so that we have impactful ideas with a chance of morphing into great products. The seed is already planted, it's only a matter of time.