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Programmes Kenya

A week in Kenya with the UNIDO × UTokyo field programme

HydroBeetle joined a one-⁠week UNIDO field programme in Kenya, built around visits, interviews and listening to the people a product is meant for.

A group photograph in front of the administration building of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, on the first day of the programme.
The first day, at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Photo: UNIDO ITPO Tokyo(opens in a new tab)

In March 2026, HydroBeetle took part in a one-⁠week field programme in Kenya, run by UNIDO ITPO Tokyo with the University of Tokyo. Twelve students went, from first degree to doctorate.

What AYSEP is

AYSEP stands for Africa Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programme. UNIDO’s Tokyo office has run it with the University of Tokyo since 2025. Students learn in Japan, spend a week in Kenya, then shape a business plan around a need they saw there and pitch it.

“…respond to real needs on the ground rather than being driven solely by technology.”

The judges’ advice at the pitch event, as reported by UNIDO ITPO Tokyo

The week in Kenya

The first day began at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and at JHUB Africa, its innovation hub, where the students met young founders.

After that, each student visited companies and sites that fit their own idea, with support from Axcel Africa. For HydroBeetle, that meant meeting organisations that work on water, including Majik Water.

What HydroBeetle took home

Conversations during the week are behind one of HydroBeetle’s working ideas: for teams working far from any resupply, water that needs no source may matter more than a large amount of it. It is still an idea to test, and testing it needs a partner in the field.

The pitch in Tokyo

On 25 May 2026, Africa Day, the twelve students presented their plans at the United Nations University in Tokyo. About 100 people came, among them Kenya’s ambassador to Japan. UNIDO’s report lists water resources among the fields covered.

The judges’ advice was plain: answer real needs on the ground, and do not let the technology lead.

In pictures

A large group of students and young founders on a lawn at JHUB Africa, between the hub’s banners.
With young founders at JHUB Africa, the university’s innovation hub. Photo: Institute for Future Initiatives, the University of Tokyo(opens in a new tab)
Programme participants seated along a table in a meeting room; one of them stands to speak.
A meeting during the week.
An open-air market: sacks, heaps of maize husks and traders under sun umbrellas.
A market in Kenya.
A large black water tank at a market, painted with the words “Osha mikono yako hapa”.
“Osha mikono yako hapa”: wash your hands here. A water tank at a market.
Racks of large blue refill bottles inside a water shop.
Refill bottles at a water shop.
A programme participant with two people in front of a building with a blue door.
During a field visit.
Students, judges and guests in a group photograph at the United Nations University in Tokyo, with online participants on the screen behind them.
The pitch event at the United Nations University in Tokyo, 25 May 2026. Photo: UNIDO ITPO Tokyo(opens in a new tab)

Timeline

  1. 15 March 2026The week in Kenya begins at JKUAT and JHUB Africa.
  2. During the weekCompany visits, interviews and field visits.
  3. 25 May 2026The students pitch their plans in Tokyo.

Sources

  1. UNIDO ITPO Tokyo: Field programme in Kenya (AYSEP) (opens in a new tab)
  2. UNIDO ITPO Tokyo: AYSEP pitch event report, 25 May 2026 (opens in a new tab)
  3. University of Tokyo, Institute for Future Initiatives: AYSEP in Kenya (in Japanese) (opens in a new tab)

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