Strategic Partnerships & Collaboration

KEMRI Does Not
Work Alone.
Neither Should You.

KEMRI's greatest achievements have come through partnerships that combine our national authority, scientific infrastructure, and field capacity with the resources, networks, and ambitions of organisations that share our commitment to advancing health. We are actively seeking the partners who will define the next chapter.

Start a Partnership Explore Partnership Models

30+

Active International Partners

40+

Years of Partnership Track Record

Continents Represented in Network

Why Partner with KEMRI

Six Things KEMRI Brings to a Partnership That No Other Institution in Kenya Can Replicate

KEMRI is not looking for partners who will tolerate its limitations. It is looking for partners who will recognise its irreplaceable value — the combination of capabilities that makes collaboration with KEMRI distinctly more valuable than any alternative.

These six dimensions are not marketing language. They are specific, defensible claims grounded in KEMRI's actual institutional assets — the assets that have attracted Wellcome Trust, NIH, USAID, Africa CDC, and dozens of the world's most demanding scientific and development organisations to choose KEMRI as their Kenyan and East African partner.

National Authority

Kenya's statutory national health research body — a mandate no other institution holds. Partners gain the legitimacy of working with Kenya's official scientific institution.

Established by Act of Parliament, 1979

Scientific Infrastructure

Four decades of accumulated research infrastructure — 14 specialist centres, equipped laboratories, field sites, ethics systems, and publication channels.

14 Research Centres · 7 Field Stations

National Field Capacity

Operational research presence across all 47 Kenyan counties — the geographic reach that no other research institution in Kenya can match.

All 47 Counties · 4,000+ Staff

Ethical Credibility

Independent Scientific Ethics Review Unit recognised by international regulatory bodies, providing partners with the ethics infrastructure international research requires.

SERU · GCP Certified · ISO 15189

Scientific Depth

Multidisciplinary expertise across infectious disease, genomics, public health, NCDs, diagnostics, drug development, and health systems in a single institution.

6 Research Domains · 1,000+ Publications

Continental Network

Established relationships with Africa CDC, Wellcome Trust, NIH, WHO, and major international research institutions — a gateway to East Africa and the continent.

30+ International Partners · 6 Continents

What Partners Say

"KEMRI's combination of national mandate, field infrastructure, and scientific depth makes it an irreplaceable partner for any organisation serious about health research in East Africa. The quality of their team and the rigour of their governance have made every collaboration productive and trust-based."

Senior Programme Officer Major International Health Research Funder

30+

Active international partnerships

40+

Years of partnership track record

1,000+

Joint publications with global partners

Response days for partnership enquiries

Partnership Models

Four Collaboration Structures.
One Standard: Producing Outcomes.

KEMRI does not offer one-size-fits-all partnerships. Each model is designed for the specific needs of a specific type of partner — with clear parameters, clear process, and a clear account of what the collaboration is expected to produce.

For Funders & Development Partners

Research Funding Partnership

Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, USAID, bilateral agencies, private foundations

Funders partner with KEMRI to support specific research programmes within its thematic areas, or to provide programmatic or institutional support for KEMRI's broader research capacity. KEMRI offers funders a high-governance, high-capacity research institution with a proven track record of delivering funded research programs that produce documented outcomes.

Programmatic research grants supporting defined research programs

Innovation grants for specific translational programs

Capacity-building grants for training and graduate ecosystem

Strategic multi-year partnerships providing sustained support

Co-funded arrangements with other major development organisations

Examples: Wellcome Trust multi-year programme grant, NIH Fogarty training award, USAID research programme

Explore →

For Universities & Research Institutions

Academic Collaboration

Universities, research institutes, think tanks, global health faculties

Academic institutions partner with KEMRI to gain access to its field capacity, national research mandate, and ethics infrastructure — assets that academic institutions based outside Kenya cannot supply independently. KEMRI provides the Kenyan dimension of multi-country research programs and hosts visiting scientists and graduate students.

Memoranda of Understanding for formal research collaboration

Co-investigation arrangements on funded research programs

Joint PhD and postdoctoral training programs

Student placement and research attachment programs

Shared data and biobanking arrangements

Examples: LSHTM MoU, Johns Hopkins collaborative grant, Oxford co-PI arrangement

Explore →

For Industry & Pharmaceutical Companies

Industry & Innovation Partnership

Pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, diagnostics manufacturers, health technology companies

Industry partners work with KEMRI to access clinical research infrastructure, translational science capacity, licensing opportunities, and East African market entry support. KEMRI offers the ethics credibility, patient population access, and regulatory knowledge that industry partners require for African research programs.

Sponsored clinical research — Phase I through IV trial conduct

Co-development arrangements with shared IP models

Contract research services at ISO 15189 standard

Technology licensing and commercialisation agreements

Joint innovation programs combining KEMRI science with industry capability

Examples: Phase II trial sponsorship, diagnostics co-development, compound licensing agreement

Explore →

For Government & Development Partners

Government & Advisory Partnership

Ministry of Health, county governments, WHO, Africa CDC, bilateral development agencies

Government and development partners engage KEMRI as Kenya's primary source of health research evidence — for policy development, disease response, health system strengthening, and scientific advisory functions. KEMRI provides evidence, surveillance, and advisory capacity that government bodies need but often cannot generate internally.

Formal advisory relationships with specific health departments

Commissioned research addressing specific policy questions

Surveillance partnerships with government health systems

Training and capacity-building for government professionals

Formal MoUs at national and county government levels

Examples: MoH advisory relationship, Nairobi County MoU, WHO collaborative centre designation

Explore →

Audience Pathways

Find Your Partnership Pathway

Different organisations need different kinds of relationships. Every pathway leads to the same place: a productive, well-governed collaboration that produces outcomes worth investing in.

Partnership Pathway

For Research Funders

Funding KEMRI is funding impact at national and continental scale. KEMRI offers funders a proven, high-governance research institution capable of executing research across its full portfolio — from infectious disease and genomics to public health systems and drug development.

What funders consistently cite as KEMRI's key advantages: its national mandate gives funded research unmatched policy relevance; its governance infrastructure reduces funder risk; and its scientific breadth means a single institutional relationship can address multiple thematic priorities simultaneously.

What KEMRI Offers Funders

National Mandate Proven Governance Multi-Theme Portfolio Policy Translation Impact Reporting Ethics Infrastructure

Initiate a Funding Conversation →

Partnership Pathway

For Universities

University partnerships with KEMRI are built on a simple and powerful complementarity: universities bring methodological innovation, international networks, and external scientific perspectives; KEMRI brings the field infrastructure, patient population access, national mandate, and deep health system knowledge that makes research conducted in Kenya valid, representative, and actionable.

KEMRI hosts visiting scientists, co-supervises graduate students, provides field sites for multi-country studies, and serves as co-principal investigator on internationally funded grants.

What KEMRI Offers Universities

Field Infrastructure Patient Access Co-PI Arrangements Graduate Training Ethics Approval National Data

Explore Academic Collaboration →

Partnership Pathway

For Industry

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies partner with KEMRI for two primary reasons: its clinical research infrastructure — GCP-compliant, ethics-governed, nationally licensed — and its innovation portfolio, which includes technologies, diagnostics, and drug candidates available for licensing and co-development.

KEMRI provides industry partners with something uniquely valuable in the African context: a single institution with the scientific depth, regulatory credibility, and national reach to support complex multi-site clinical programs without the operational fragility of newer or smaller organisations.

What KEMRI Offers Industry

Phase I–IV Trials GCP Compliance IP Licensing Co-Development Patient Cohorts Regulatory Support

Explore Industry Partnership →

Partnership Pathway

For Government

KEMRI is Kenya's scientific conscience — the institution that translates research evidence into health policy guidance, provides disease surveillance intelligence to the Ministry of Health, and brings the scientific depth of a world-class research institution to the practical challenges of Kenya's health system.

Government partners at national and county levels engage KEMRI through formal MoUs, commissioned research, and ongoing advisory relationships that give health decision-makers access to Kenya's most credible and comprehensive health research evidence base.

What KEMRI Offers Government

Policy Briefs Surveillance Data Advisory Capacity Commissioned Research MoU Framework Training

Explore Advisory Engagement →

Partnership Pathway

For Development Partners

Development organisations — multilateral agencies, bilateral donors, and international NGOs — partner with KEMRI to embed research capacity and evidence generation within their health programs in Kenya and East Africa. KEMRI provides the institutional credibility and scientific rigour that development programs need to demonstrate genuine impact.

KEMRI is especially valuable as a development partner because of its public mandate and accountability — the assurance that its research serves public health goals, not commercial ones, makes it an ideal institutional anchor for development-funded programs.

What KEMRI Offers Development Partners

Public Accountability National Reach Capacity Building Impact Evidence UHC Research Sustainability

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Partnership Pathway

For International Organisations

WHO, UNICEF, Global Fund, Gavi, PEPFAR implementing partners, and other international health organisations partner with KEMRI to anchor their Kenyan programs in a nationally credible institution. KEMRI provides the local scientific legitimacy, field infrastructure, and government relationships that international organisations operating in Kenya need but cannot independently provide.

KEMRI holds WHO Collaborating Centre status and maintains active formal relationships with Africa CDC, making it a recognised node in the global health institutional network.

What KEMRI Offers International Organisations

WHO Collaborating Centre Africa CDC Node National Legitimacy Compliance Systems Scientific Credibility

Explore International Partnership →

Partnership Case Studies

What Partnership with KEMRI
Actually Produces

The strongest evidence for the value of partnering with KEMRI is not what KEMRI claims — it is what KEMRI's partners have experienced and what their collaborations have produced.

Research Funder · Long-Term Programme Partnership

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme: A Multi-Decade Partnership That Defined Kenyan Health Science

The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, headquartered at the Kilifi site in Kenya's Coast Province, represents one of the longest-running and most productive research partnerships in African health science. Through co-funded research programs spanning paediatric health, infectious disease, and health systems, the partnership has produced a body of scientific work that has directly influenced WHO treatment guidelines, Kenya's national health policies, and the careers of hundreds of Kenyan scientists.

Partnership Model

Long-Term Programme Grant Co-Investigation Capacity Building Graduate Training

Partnership Outcomes

Hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, multiple WHO guideline contributions, and a generation of Kenyan scientists trained to international standard — making the Kilifi programme one of the most productive single-site health research programs in Africa.

"KEMRI has been the institutional foundation on which this program's scientific achievements rest. Without KEMRI's national mandate, community relationships, and institutional infrastructure, none of what we have accomplished together would have been possible."

Programme Leadership KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme

Government Partnership · County Health Collaboration

KEMRI & Nairobi County Government: Embedding Research Capacity in Kenya's Largest Urban Health System

A Memorandum of Understanding between KEMRI and the Nairobi County Department of Health has established an embedded research partnership that places KEMRI researchers within Nairobi's county health facilities to conduct real-world health systems research across the capital's diverse populations. The partnership gives the county government access to KEMRI's scientific capacity; it gives KEMRI access to the urban health system data and community relationships that make its research applicable to Kenya's rapidly urbanising population.

Partnership Model

Government MoU Embedded Research Health System Strengthening

Partnership Outcomes

KEMRI researchers embedded in five Nairobi county health facilities, conducting real-time health systems research that informs county health planning and generates nationally significant data on urban health challenges.

"The partnership with KEMRI has given our health system access to scientific expertise that no county government could afford to develop independently. Their researchers are now part of how we understand and respond to Nairobi's health challenges."

County Health Director Nairobi County Department of Health

International Organisation · WHO Collaboration

WHO Collaborating Centre Designation: KEMRI as a Node in the Global Pandemic Preparedness Infrastructure

KEMRI's Centre for Virus Research holds WHO Collaborating Centre status for respiratory pathogen genomic surveillance — positioning KEMRI as an official node in the World Health Organisation's global disease early-warning network. Through this partnership, KEMRI contributes Kenya's pathogen genomic data to the global database that allows WHO to track emerging pathogens and inform international health response.

Partnership Model

WHO Collaborating Centre Data Contribution Technical Capacity

Partnership Outcomes

Kenya's pathogen genomic data integrated into WHO's global surveillance network, and KEMRI's operational surveillance model adopted as a reference for WHO's pandemic preparedness technical assistance programme in sub-Saharan Africa.

"KEMRI represents exactly what the WHO Collaborating Centre network is designed to build — national institutions with the scientific capacity to generate world-class surveillance intelligence from the regions where it matters most."

Technical Officer World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa

Academic Partnership · Multi-Country Research Program

East African Pharmacogenomics Network: KEMRI as the Kenyan Anchor for a Pan-African Genomics Initiative

KEMRI is the Kenyan coordinating institution for the East African Pharmacogenomics Network — a consortium of research institutions across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda studying how genetic variation in East African populations affects drug metabolism and response. The network, co-funded by multiple international sources, generates data critical to the development of precision medicine approaches for African populations.

Partnership Model

Multi-Country Consortium Co-Investigation Shared Biobanking Joint Publication

Partnership Outcomes

East African pharmacogenomics dataset — one of the largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa — generated, with findings informing WHO guidance on pharmacogenomic testing in low-resource settings and contributing to the first East Africa-specific prescribing guidance for key HIV and malaria therapeutics.

Our Partners

A Network Built on Scientific Credibility

The organisations that choose to partner with KEMRI are among the world's most discerning scientific, funding, and development institutions. Their choice is itself an endorsement.

Research Funders

Academic Partners

International Organisations

Government Partners

Start a Partnership

Tell Us About Your Organisation and What You Are Looking For

Our partnerships team reviews every inquiry personally and responds with substantive information — not a generic acknowledgement. The more specific you are about your objectives, the more useful our response will be.

Response in 5 Working Days

Every partnership inquiry receives a substantive personal response from our partnerships team within five working days.

Confidential Process

All inquiries are treated confidentially. NDAs are available before any substantive technical or strategic discussion.

Routed to the Right Person

Your inquiry is reviewed and routed to the most appropriate member of KEMRI's partnerships, research, or innovation team.

Flexible Engagement

From an initial exploratory conversation to a formal partnership proposal — we work at the pace and scale that suits your organisation.

Partnership Inquiry

Complete this form to begin a conversation with KEMRI's Partnerships Team. We respond to all inquiries within 5 working days.

First Name *

Last Name *

Work Email *

Job Title

Organisation *

Type of Organisation *

Partnership Type Sought *

Tell us about your partnership interest *

All inquiries are handled confidentially by KEMRI's Partnerships Team. We respond to all submissions within 5 working days. For urgent enquiries, contact partnerships@kemri.go.ke directly.

KEMRI Does NotWork Alone.Neither Should You.

Six Things KEMRI Brings to a Partnership That No Other Institution in Kenya Can Replicate

Four Collaboration Structures.One Standard: Producing Outcomes.

Research Funding Partnership

Academic Collaboration

Industry & Innovation Partnership

Government & Advisory Partnership

Find Your Partnership Pathway

What Partnership with KEMRIActually Produces

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme: A Multi-Decade Partnership That Defined Kenyan Health Science

KEMRI & Nairobi County Government: Embedding Research Capacity in Kenya's Largest Urban Health System

WHO Collaborating Centre Designation: KEMRI as a Node in the Global Pandemic Preparedness Infrastructure

East African Pharmacogenomics Network: KEMRI as the Kenyan Anchor for a Pan-African Genomics Initiative

A Network Built on Scientific Credibility

Tell Us About Your Organisation and What You Are Looking For

KEMRI Does Not
Work Alone.
Neither Should You.

Four Collaboration Structures.
One Standard: Producing Outcomes.

What Partnership with KEMRI
Actually Produces