French Ambassador Designate commits to accelerating UoN's Engineering and Science Complex
On Monday, 28th September 2026, the French Ambassador Designate to Kenya, H.E. Wadid Benaabou, held a courtesy call with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, Prof. Ayub Gitau, to assess the progress of the Engineering and Science Complex, a flagship French investment in the education sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.
During the meeting, Ambassador Benaabou expressed his commitment to ensuring the project moves forward without impediments. While acknowledging that the development is currently behind schedule, the Ambassador indicated his expectation for the infrastructure ground-breaking to occur in March 2027, provided all milestones are met.
In response, Vice Chancellor Prof. Gitau assured the Ambassador of his dedication to providing the leadership necessary to ensure the project’s expeditious implementation.
Prof. Gitau highlighted the significant progress already achieved through the ongoing cooperation with the French Embassy and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Key successes include advancements in staff and student mobility, the formation of communities and centres of excellence, enhanced innovation and research initiatives, the launch of relevant academic programmes, the development of an internationalisation policy and strategy, the strengthening of industry linkages, and the implementation of a Gender Gap Action Plan.
Both leaders also took the opportunity to express their gratitude to President William Ruto and President Emmanuel Macron. They noted that the two leaders’ recent visit and engagement at the University of Nairobi during the French Africa Forward summit provided a significant boost to the project by attracting additional partners.
