Our Origin Story

Learn how we have grown over the years

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How did Swahilipot Hub came to be?

Why are all technology, innovation, and incubation hubs based in Nairobi? Nairobi is not Kenya and Kenya is not Nairobi. Something has to change. Aha moment that inspired the founding of Swahilipot.

In 2016, Mahmoud Noor (alias Mentor001) took action and founded Swahilipot with support from National Museums of Kenya (NMK), Seacom, ICT Authority, and Cisco.

Swahilipot started as a community-based organization (CBO) with programs focused on technology & innovation. Has grown over the years to become a non-profit organization (NGO) with diverse program areas and reach.

Timeline

  • 2016: Swahilipot Hub founded as a community-based organization (CBO) with programs/activities focused on technology and innovation.
  • 2017: The ambitions of Swahilipot Hub grows and upgrades from a community-based organization (CBO) to a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) regulated by the The Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Board of Kenya. The official name becomes Swahilipot Hub Foundation.
  • 2018: SSwahilipot Hub hosts the first edition of Pwani Innovation Week, its first major activity focused on promoting technology and innovation in the Coastal region of Kenya. On the last day of PIW, Swahilipot hosts Pwani Gat Talent, its major event focused on promoting arts in the coastal region of Kenya.
  • 2021: Swahilipot Hub Foundation becomes the anchor partner for the Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN) in Mombasa and secures its first grant as an NGO. GOYN is a multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to create place-based systemic shifts for youth economic opportunity. GOYN is based at the Aspen Institutes Forum for Community Solutions. Opportunity Youth are young people aged 18 - 35 who are out of school, unemployed, not in education or training. With this kind of support, it starts to transition from an organization that is volunteer-led and run to hiring full-time staff on payroll.
  • 2022: Swahilipot Hub Foundation hosts the Modern Heritage of Africa (MoHoA) workshop, its first major event under the program area of heritage. Hosted in a hybrid format (in-person at Swahilipot Hub and virtual), it brought together speakers and participants from across the globe. Key partners included National Museums of Kenya, ICCROM, University of Cape Town, University College London, African World Heritage Fund, ICOMOS, IUCN, and UNESCO
  • 2023: Swahilipot Hub Foundation gets certified as being equivalent to a Certified Public Charity in the United States of America. This means that US grantmakers can fund Swahilipot directly.