To boost innovation, Kenya must incentivise research like South Africa

Kabarak University VC Henry Kiplagat (right) and Prof Julius Oyugi, Director of Research at UoN’s Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, during the launch of the "Enabling Girls in AI and Growing Expertise," on July 31, 2024. [File, Standard]

On September 5, 2025, I was privileged to attend the 2025 Spring Graduation Ceremony for the University of Venda (UNIVEN) as a guest. While the visit was meant to cement collaborations between UNIVEN and Kabarak University, something caught my attention. South Africa has a system of incentivising research by paying scholars and researchers for publishing their work in peer-reviewed journals. They not only pay the researchers, they also pay institutions where the research is conducted.