Two Cohorts, One Community: SAIStival in Nairobi

What a week! From 8 to 13 February, Nairobi became the heart of African AgTech innovation as we brought together many people of our SAIS community for SAIStival. So, what is the SAIStival? It is our annual starting point of our Investment Readiness Programme, it is a gathering, designed to connect, inspire and accelerate the founders we are proud to support.

SAIS supports tech start-ups from Africa to scale digital innovations for social impact. Through a market-based approach, we help founders become investment ready and raise capital they need to grow, reach more customers, and deliver measureable impact across income generation, nutrition, and climate adaptation. The SAIStival is where this work comes to life and where we meet the founders and CEOs of the start-ups supported under the SAIS Investment Readiness Programme.

At the heart of this year’s edition was the exchange between two cohorts at a pivotal moment: The outgoing cohort, now transitioning into the SAIS alumni network, brought with them experience, honest lessons, and a generosity of spirit that set the tone for the entire event. The incoming cohort arrived with fresh energy, bold ideas, and an eagerness to learn. The exchange between these two groups was not just a highlight of the week; it is one of the defining features of what makes SAIS more than an accelerator: It is a community that compounds all kinds of practical knowledge across cohorts of founders.

This dynamic was most visible during our peer-to-peer sessions, where founders engaged in structured discussions first grouped by region, then by sector. From FinTech and Data & Advisory to Livestock, Aquaculture, and Infrastructure & Logistics, the conversations were candid, practical, and full of the kind of insight that only comes from people who have lived the challenges of building a venture in Africa. Alongside this, cohort sessions, individual interviews, and a farm tour, exploring syntropic agriculture rounded out a packed and purposeful day at the Brackenhurst in Tigoni.

The day closed with a community dinner, where the energy of networking carried well into the evening. It was the perfect setting to celebrate the connections made and the conversations that will no doubt lead to future collaborations.

A heartfelt thank you to every founder, partner, and team member who showed up with openness and energy. SAIStival exists because of you.

AquaDeep (Tunisia), aXiom Zorn (Uganda), Biolife Tech (Benin), ChipChip (Ethiopia), Chitosan Egypt(Egypt), Coastal Biotech (Tanzania), Crop2Cash (Nigeria), DeepLeaf (Morocco), Delta Oil (Egypt), Djoli (Côte d’Ivoire), eMaisha Pay (Uganda), Emata (Uganda), eSusFarm (Uganda), Fanaka Technologies (Zambia), Forested Foods (Ethiopia), Kumbatia Seafood (Kenya), Nintai Aquaculture (Kenya), NoorNation (Egypt), Nuru Solutions (Kenya), Obens (Morocco), OnlyPlants (Kenya), Proteen (Uganda), Pullus Africa (Nigeria), Samaking (Kenya), ShareCARD (Uganda), Simusolar (Uganda), Sommalife (Ghana), TDX (Ghana), TradePulse (Kenya), VunaPay (Kenya)