On April 15, 2025, the C4DLab had the honour of hosting Dr. Michiel Scheffer, President of the European Innovation Commission (EIC). Dr. Scheffer’s visit was all about connecting with the local innovation scene. A highlight was seeing pitches from two exciting startups incubated right at the Lab: ROISUM and FLIPS ORG. Both startups are working on innovative solutions for climate change adaptation, and they were hoping to secure EIC funding to help them take their ideas to the next level.
Dr. Scheffer was accompanied by Dr. Laurent Bochereau, Minister-Councellor from the EU Delegation to the African Union in Addis Ababa, DVC Research, Innovation and Enterprise; Prof. Francis Mulaa; Prof. Elisha Abade, Coordinator of C4DLab’; Prof. Marc Zolver, Resident Expert at the University of Nairobi, and Mr. Charles Katua, the Programmes Manager at the C4DLab. Mr. Katua and Prof. Abade were the masterminds behind the event, making sure everything ran smoothly. Mr. Bryan Ouma, the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at the University of Nairobi, was also present, emphasizing the collaborative spirit of the visit.
During the hourlong event, Prof. Abade gave a quick overview of the C4DLab and its role in boosting innovation. Prof. Zolver then spoke about the ongoing partnership with the French government and other partners, including the construction of a state-of-the-art Engineering and Science Complex at the Chiromo campus.
Prof. Francis Mulaa also took the opportunity to talk about Afretec, a network linking top technology and engineering universities across Africa. He stressed how important it is to build a strong technology and innovation ecosystem across the continent and to create more partnerships, especially with the European Union.
These presentations gave the EIC President a good picture of the innovation landscape and key initiatives happening at the University of Nairobi and in Africa as a whole, setting the stage for the startup pitches.
Mr. Ouma acknowledged the C4DLab’s important role in the university’s innovation efforts and praised the startups and other innovators in the university community for creating jobs for themselves and others, before inviting Dr. Scheffer to share his thoughts.
Dr. Scheffer affirmed the EIC’s commitment to building lasting collaborations and supporting vibrant technology and innovation ecosystems with partners in both Africa and Europe. He explained that his visit to the university innovation hub and the startup pitches provided a valuable glimpse into the University of Nairobi’s dynamic innovation environment.
The visit is part of the EIC’s larger plan to encourage innovation ecosystems in Africa, with a special focus on Kenya. Dr. Bochearau, Minister -Councellor from the EU delegation to the African Union in Adis Ababa, organized the visit.
About the EIC
The EIC is the EU’s main program for identifying, developing, and scaling up groundbreaking technologies and game-changing innovations.
The EIC is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe program, with a €10.1 billion budget to support game-changing innovations from early-stage research and technology transfer to proof of concept, and the financing and scaling up of startups and SMEs.
About ROISUM and FLIPS
RoISUM is an AI and crowdsourcing-powered tool for monitoring road surface conditions. It offers a comprehensive way to build climate resilience into the roads sector.
FLIPS integrates Machine Learning and Remote Sensing to monitor floods in real time and provide early warnings, giving people time to react.