TECHgrow: East African startups as guests at KIT

From 16 to 23 September 2025, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is hosting three technology-oriented start-ups from East Africa at the Institute of Information Processing Technology (ITIV) as part of the TECHgrow program.

The six participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda are winners of the first project phase of the international innovation program TECH4Transition. The second phase of the program - the so-called "soft landing" - is now taking place in Germany. The founding teams receive targeted support in the further development of their prototypes, prepare for investor pitches and establish contacts with players in the German innovation ecosystem. The program is supplemented by weekend leisure activities that promote intercultural exchange

ITIV supports the technical work on site: PhD students Felix Frombach (Prof. Becker group), Janik Weis and Markus Lehner (both Prof. Stork group) support the teams in implementing their ideas and are also actively involved in the supporting program. A special highlight is the presentation by Prof. Wilhelm Stork, who will provide scientific impetus for the further development of the product ideas.

The event is part of the larger TECH4Transition project in which KIT - represented by KIT Gründerschmiede, ITIV and Innovation and Relations Management (IRM) - supports the innovation ecosystem in Africa. This is made possible by the cooperation with GIZ, the German Society for International Cooperation.

Further information on the TECH4Transition project can be found here.