Kenya launches digital system to protect and monetise indigenous knowledge

Gender and Culture CS Hannah Cheptumo admire an artifact at National Musuem of Kenya on June 19, 2025 [Mike Kihaki, Standard]

Kenya has launched a national digital platform aimed at protecting and monetising indigenous knowledge, giving communities power to control, benefit from and pass down their cultural heritage.

Gender and Culture Cabinet Secretary Hannah Cheptumo unveiled the Indigenous Knowledge Management System on Thursday, June 19, during the 8th National Museums of Kenya Science Expo in Nairobi.

Wendot said the platform will help communities grant access, set user rights and negotiate benefits from knowledge passed down through generations.

“The Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expression Act is clear. We must protect the rights of communities who have for generations carried this wisdom. Let us ensure they benefit from it too,” observed Wendot.

She described the initiative as more than a memory bank, calling it a tool for survival, trade and pride.

“This is not just about memory. It is about markets. It is about survival. It is about pride. Our Indigenous Knowledge Innovation Bank, perhaps the first of its kind in Africa and maybe the world, is now a reality. It will ensure our communities are not just remembered but rewarded,” Wendot noted.

Referred to as InKiBank, the system digitises knowledge including traditional medicines, food systems, shrines, music and indigenous technologies. It has already been rolled out in 13 counties and connects local databases to a national repository housed at the National Museums of Kenya.

The project was funded under the Indigenous Knowledge Documentation and Digitisation Project in the 2023/2024 financial year.

“This platform ensures that intellectual property is not stolen but shared ethically, and that the knowledge of a grandmother in Turkana can become a globally celebrated innovation,” she explained.

Themed “Economic Transformation Through Heritage Conservation,” the expo brought together policymakers, researchers, innovators and students to explore how science and culture can jointly address modern problems such as climate change, food insecurity, healthcare and youth unemployment.

National Museums of Kenya Director General Mary Gikungu said the platform helps bridge generations and prepares young people to inherit and grow traditional wisdom.

“Through this we are creating a bridge between the past and present and lighting a way into the future. We are investing not just in preserving knowledge but in nurturing the next generation of knowledge holders,” she observed.

She pointed to the involvement of students who presented research through posters and papers as proof of continuity.

“This is how we ensure that the work continues, and that our children’s children will still taste the traditional foods, still sing the old songs and still find new meaning in the wisdom of their ancestors,” noted Gikungu.

The event also marked the launch of the Book of Proceedings from the 1st Joint International Scientific Conference 2024, which attracted more than 300 delegates from over 70 institutions globally.

“We are declaring that culture is not a relic. It is a resource. A tool. A future. And in that future, no child should be told their traditions are worthless, because we now have proof and a platform that they are invaluable,” she added.