• Backed by a $73.3 million investment from global partners, Phase II establishes three Engineering Centres of Excellence and a Science and Technology Park designed to transform classroom research into commercial solutions.

Kenya expanded the Support to Higher Education, Science and Technology (HEST) initiative on February 10, 2026 when the Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba launched Phase II, scaling its reach to 19 public universities.

CS Ogamba says the project is a five-year flagship Government investment in the transformation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education within Kenyan universities. 

According to him, through targeted investments in infrastructure, equipment, academic capacity, research, and governance systems, the project seeks to ensure that universities are capable of producing graduates with relevant skills, innovation capacity, and global competitiveness.

Backed by a $73.3 million investment from global partners, Phase II establishes three Engineering Centres of Excellence and a Science and Technology Park designed to transform classroom research into commercial solutions.

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Students now access state‑of‑the‑art laboratories, digital learning materials, and innovation spaces, with the program targeting 20,000 highly skilled graduates by 2030 and supporting 100 youth‑led start‑ups.

For citizens, this expansion is a civic investment in talent, innovation, and national competitiveness.

The Foundation: HEST Phase I(2012–2024)

To understand this transformation, it helps to look back at HEST Phase I (2012–2024). Launched with support from the African Development Bank, the first phase focused on improving technical training in eight public universities.

It upgraded laboratories, funded advanced staff training at Master’s and Doctorate levels, and secured accreditation for 15 engineering programs by the Engineers Board of Kenya.

Enrollment surged from 509,000 students in 2019 to 579,000 in 2023, proving that investment in infrastructure directly expands access to higher education. These foundational efforts laid the groundwork for the broader expansion now underway.

The National Impact: Beyond the Classroom

The national impact of HEST goes far beyond classrooms. By strengthening partnerships between universities and industry, Kenya aims to raise manufacturing’s GDP contribution to 15% by 2028, create 5,000 direct jobs, and improve its global competitiveness ranking from 95th to 50th.

For ordinary citizens, this translates into better roads, smarter farming, cleaner energy, and stronger healthcare technologies— all driven by homegrown talent.

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