Kenya’s Youth Poised to drive Innovation and Creativity in the Continent.

By Nyaruri Paul Okinyi.

Youth population is becoming a global phenomenon and Kenya is not an exception on this. In Kenya, youths are faced with a number of Challenges, like an employment though they represent an asset to Kenya. Kenya’s youths are known to be enthusiastically easy learners who take up the task of technological innovation easily in the continent.

 This scenario has made Fredrick Onyango, 25 years old from Siaya County who resides in Nairobi County, Starehe constituency to think on how he can be innovative and create something that can change the society and his life inclusively.

 Onyango works in Ngara garage, Kwale road in Starehe constituency. Here he works on unique bikes where some of the displayed bikes in his garage are Helicopter bike, Eagle bike and Dinosaur bike. They are normal bikes they are assembled in a manner that they resemble their names given by Onyango and his team. These machines all use road and they occupy the space of a full lorry when on motion.

 For example Helicopter bike is a multipurpose bike. It can fly and also use the road but Fred poses for a minute and, I wonder why, he tells me the challenge with flying is the government has not given them the licence to fly the machine. From his face I can sense a tone of disappointment but he consoles himself that time will tell.

Dinosaur bike PHOTO/ NYARURI PAUL

His work involves collection of old motorbikes engines and scrap materials to come up with a movable four wheeled motorbike. He has devoted his entire time since, it’s like his office, he too and his workers report at eight in the morning and leave at five in the evening, claims Onyango.

His garage is amazing that nobody can imagine, what is created and assembled there can be done by a local youth who trying to meet his daily needs. He poses and says, “many people wonder what I am doing here when I initially start a project, but after my team and I have assembled something of substance, locals including tourists come and see my ventures”.

Onyango continues to narrate that “the youth in Kenya have a limitless source of innovative energy, and engaging them will inspire a generation of change makers. The contribution that the youth can make to the problems they see around, is to be given an opportunity by the world to showcase their talents in innovation fares”.

 Driven by passion, to see generational transformation and changes from grassroots to the global level is the ambition for Onyango. His garage dubbed with the name Freddie Technologies, is training four youths from the area. They too feel enthusiastic being part of the team that uniquely comes with extra ordinary assemblies.

Foreign tourists admiring Mr. Onyango 's motorbike innovation.PHOTO/Nyaruri Paul.

Asked how he came up with this idea, Fred says ” his idea of doing local assembly using locally available materials such as copper wires, aluminium metals and old metal scraps was due to the fact that kids love funny and unique machines”.

 His started  realizing this potential back when he was young age by using clay soil to design things until the year  2014,when he opened his own garage to mechanize and assemble his creations and innovations.

Fred gets the support of the local public and tourist who come to see his assembled bikes through their donations. He has made the small town called Ngara in Starehe constituency to become a tourist destination.

Mr. Onyango posing with a tourist.PHOTO/ Nyaruri Paul.

 The Global Innovation Index 2018 ranks Kenya number three among the Sub-Sahara Africa. Maybe through Fred’s innovation and creativity, we can move to the first position if it is harnessed in the right way. Innovation with passion will reduce nation’s unemployment rate which now stands in the alarming stage. Technological innovation and creativity is becoming a major economic and social development accelerator in Kenya.  With this enthusiasm, Kenyan youth have decided to embrace self-creation of income through systematic and calculated innovation.