‘Sankalp Africa Awards’ Crowns 3 Kenyan Startups, Highlights Africa’s Entrepreneurial Power

Three Kenyan startups have swept top honours at the Sankalp Africa Awards 2026, underscoring the country’s dominance in continental innovation.

Nairobi hosted this year’s three-day summit, gathering more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers from over 50 countries.

Running through February 26 at the Sarit Expo Centre under the theme “South–South Rising,” the 13th edition of the summit highlighted Africa’s enterprise growth, climate resilience, and startup innovation conversations.

Kenya’s Triple Victory

From a competitive shortlist of sixteen enterprises tackling Africa’s toughest social and economic challenges, Kenyan innovators walked away with three of the five category awards, reaffirming the country’s leadership in driving impact across the continent.

In the AgriTech category, Rio Fish Ltd, led by Angela Juliana Odero, was recognised for transforming aquaculture through sustainable fish farming practices that empower women and youth while promoting ethical market systems.

The early-stage startup is building climate-resilient livelihoods in Kenya’s blue economy, turning ponds into platforms for inclusive growth.

The Circular Tech award went to M-Taka Solutions, headed by Benson Abila.

The startup is digitising Kenya’s informal waste economy, connecting households, waste collectors, and recyclers through a transparent technology-enabled platform that converts waste into economic opportunity.

From Kisumu’s plastic waste challenges, M-Taka is building a circular economy model with continental potential.

In HealthTech, Malaica AG, led by CTO and Co-Founder Victor Murage Ndegwa, won for revolutionising maternal healthcare through expert-led, affordable, and continuous pregnancy care for women across Kenya.

The model blends digital care pathways with on-the-ground medical support, tackling one of the country’s most persistent healthcare gaps.

Continental Winners Complete the Lineup

Beyond Kenya, Nigeria’s Sosai Renewable Energies Ltd, founded and led by Habiba Ali, secured the ClimateTech award for expanding rural clean energy access through solar home systems, improved cookstoves, and community-powered solar mini-grids that uplift rural livelihoods.

In FinTech, East Africa’s Somo Africa Trust, under Managing Director Catherine Masolia, was recognised for supporting micro and small entrepreneurs across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda through training, funding, and market access to foster sustainable business growth.

Clean Energy Takes Centre Stage

Ahead of the main summit, Energy Catalyst, an Innovate UK programme, staged a three-day showcase of leading African clean-energy enterprises from February 24–26.

Organisers said the showcase offered investors and policymakers early engagement with technologies aimed at improving energy access.

A flagship session, “Energy as Infrastructure for Agriculture – Powering Food Systems,” featured market-ready technologies designed to boost productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and enable reliable cold-chain solutions for farmers and rural enterprises.

Among solutions attracting investor attention are solar-powered milling systems replacing diesel-powered mills, reducing operating costs for smallholder farmers.

Industrial decarbonisation features biomass-to-energy systems transforming agricultural waste into heat and power for tea factories and other processors.

From Mozambique, solar-battery microgrids branded as “GoHubs” demonstrated ice production, cold storage, and refrigerated transport solutions for artisanal fishing communities, where unreliable electricity currently contributes to significant post-harvest losses.

Pay-as-you-go induction stoves are expanding access to electric cooking for off-grid and peri-urban households through flexible financing models.

The Urgency Behind Innovation

The innovations address staggering deficits: around 600 million Africans lack electricity and over a billion lack access to clean cooking solutions, according to the World Bank.

These constraints limit economic growth, education and health opportunities, and industrial development.

“Closing Africa’s energy gaps is both a development necessity and a climate imperative,” analysts note, highlighting the social, economic, and environmental benefits of accelerated clean energy technology adoption.

Building South-South Collaboration

Organised by Intellecap under the Sankalp Forum and backed by the Aavishkaar Group, the summit connected over 350 startups to funding, market access, and global partnerships.

Strategic partners included Villgro Africa, Boehringer Ingelheim, Expertise France, Global Gateway, the EU Delegation, British International Investment, UNHCR, and GIZ, among others.

“The Sankalp Africa Awards 2026 are a powerful reminder that the Global South is not just participating in the innovation economy, it is rising, leading, and shaping solutions for the world,” said Syna Dehnugara, Director at Sankalp Forum.

“What we are witnessing is the South–South rising, entrepreneurs across Africa, within Africa exchanging ideas, capital, and courage to build solutions that resonate globally.”

Karnika Yadav, Partner and Director at Intellecap Africa, added: “Each winner embodies the courage to reimagine systems, the creativity to solve for scale, and the conviction to deliver impact where it matters most.

This is the energy that will shape Africa’s tomorrow.”

With Nairobi firmly established as East Africa’s startup hub, the 2026 summit reinforced Kenya’s position as a leading destination for entrepreneurship and investment, a dynamic landscape shaping Africa’s economic future through resilience, risk-taking, and scalable innovation.

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