WIPO participated in the inaugural AI Everything x GITEX Kenya 2026 event, held in Nairobi from May 19-21, to promote the use of intellectual property (IP) among African startups, entrepreneurs, and investors and to demonstrate IP's central role in building commercially sustainable, investment-ready businesses.
IP tools and services showcased by WIPO
WIPO engaged with visitors at its booth on a range of IP tools and services, including the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), arbitration and mediation services, data resources such as WIPO’s Global Innovation Index and WIPO Pearl terminology portal, and practical tools such as the WIPO IP Diagnostics and “Enterprising Ideas: A Guide to Intellectual Property for Startups” guide.
WIPO also contributed to two plenary panel sessions. At the Inclusive AI Summit, discussions focused on how to move from a continent that trains users of technology to one that builds, owns, and protects it. WIPO highlighted that IP is the missing link in this transition, and that without appropriate protection tools, Africa risks exporting talent and importing technology rather than capturing the value of its own innovation.
At the Venture Scaling Forum, the panel addressed the funding environment that increasingly rewards resilience over growth. WIPO’s panelist shared that a well-managed IP portfolio is a direct contributor to commercial sustainability. It protects core technology from competitive imitation, strengthens investor confidence, and creates licensing and commercialization pathways that generate long-term value independent of external funding. For founders navigating capital-scarce markets, this framing of IP as a financial and strategic asset opened substantive new conversations.
What IP-protected startups attract, a VC perspective
The WIPO booth also drew investors, among them William Bao Bean, Managing General Partner of Orbit Ventures.
For Bao Bean, investors are actively seeking African companies with the fundamentals to grow. A protected innovation, backed by IP such as PCT application or a registered trademark, is a signal. It tells an investor that the founder understands the value of what they have built, that competitors cannot easily copy it, and that the company has a basis for defensible growth.
One-Day IP Workshop for African Startups
WIPO organized a full-day workshop providing ten African startups with personalized, one-on-one consultations with qualified Kenyan IP practitioners. The goal was to help startups integrate IP into their commercial strategies from the earliest stages, making protection decisions actionable. The practitioners answered questions about international protection options, as well as the costs and timelines associated with expanding IP protection to multiple markets using WIPO's IP services.
An African platform for innovation
AI Everything x GITEX Kenya has emerged as a leading regional platform bringing together innovators, investors, and startups from across Africa, showcasing new technologies and creative solutions in Africa's rapidly evolving innovation ecosystem. By participating in this regional event, WIPO provides startups with direct access to resources and information on international IP protection, helping them bring their ideas to markets globally. WIPO will continue to support African innovators and startups through its IP systems, technical expertise, practical tools, and direct engagement with the continent's growing innovation ecosystem.