Kiringai Kamau
CANIS (Center for Agricultural Networking and Information Sharing), University o
Programme Lead
My work involves wealth creation vehicles among the communities and groups of common interests that I work with. We drive this through Value Addition and Cottage Industry Development (VACID Africa). VACID Africa is an outcome of my work with the Kenya government and UNIDO. It is an International NGO that links ICT to Agricultural Value Chains founded when I came face to face with the challenges of integrating knowledge to rural agriculture. Arising from this, much of the Agribusiness focus in Kenya's agricultural landscape took a formalized focus creating the Department of Agribusiness, and a revamped Agro Industry Department in the government structures.
My work has culminated in the stewardship to a number of initiatives shaping the Kenyan economy including the design of the CDF, Youth Fund, Water Trust Fund, Street Family Rehabilitation Trust Fund, as well as the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) in Kenya, among others that continue shaping the government in Kenya and its devolution process.
My innovation in the community knowledge driven Resource, Aquaculture, Value Addition, Agribusiness and Knowledge (RAVAAK) Centers, has been renamed to the KnowEat Hubs in line with the budding interest in the Hub models. They bring all the technologies that I have evolved in ICT4Ag and ICT4D to the communities that embrace working with us.
The focus of my work in community-corporate development modeling started with sustainable water sector development models, leading to the revenue collection models such as the Kenya PIN Driven tax collection modeling, which has transformed Kenya macroeconomic thinking. I then moved to SME Development, then to Micro-Finance, then to ICT4D through Telecentre development, and now in value chain driven agriculture to my work in ICT4D creating the ICT4Ag focus with the wealth creating potential for smallholders where governance had hitherto been lacking.
Specialties: Knowledge Management, Value Chain Analysis and Development, Business Modeling, Sustainable Development
