R2C Accelerator (Research to Commercialisation)

The R2C Accelerator, short for Research to Commercialisation, is a KENIA program run by the Kenya National Innovation Agency with ViKtoria Ventures. It sits inside Kenya's federal innovation system and is built for researchers, academics, and entrepreneurs who already have research-based ideas but still need help turning them into commercial ventures. The program is co-funded with RISA, the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa initiative backed by the UK government, and it includes a dedicated female researcher strand delivered with the Mawazo Institute. R2C does not hand out cash awards. Instead, it offers 6-8 months of training, mentorship, and coaching, with two cohorts each year running from January to June and from July to December. Participation is open to Kenyan innovators across universities, research organisations, nonprofits, for-profit ventures, and individual applicants, as long as the work is rooted in Kenya and the team can take part in a commercialisation process. The public path is built around market readiness, investor contact, and industry linkage rather than a direct cash award. The strongest fit is a research team that has a serious technical concept and needs structure around validation, venture planning, or licensing. KENIA uses the accelerator to bridge the gap between the laboratory and the market, so applicants benefit from a clear problem statement, a credible route to use, and enough discipline to work with partners over several months. The Mawazo partnership gives women researchers a visible support lane, which makes the program especially relevant for teams that want guided commercial preparation rather than one-off funding.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.