Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) is a national research institute established in 1979 under the Ministry of Trade and Industry and mandated to undertake multidisciplinary research and development in industrial and allied technologies. The Research and Technological Innovat… read moreion (RTI) department handles the institute’s core objectives. The major RTI divisions are: Engineering, Energy and Environment, ICT, Leather & Textiles, and Food Technology Divisions.
The history of KIRDI dates back to 1942, when the then colonial government set a Central Laboratory at Kabete, Nairobi.
The laboratory aim was to initiate and develop industries to relieve he industrial goods shortages occasioned by the Second World War.
The laboratory was administered by the Kenya Industrial Management Board (KIMBO)
As the laboratory expanded, it was renamed the East African Industrial Research Organization (EAIRO) and later, its management was taken over by the East African Community (EAC).
EAIRO, the predecessor of present day KIRDI has Centres in; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
It however, ceased its operations in 1977, following the collapse of the then East African Community.
In 1977, an act of Parliament establishing the National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) was amended to establish KIRDI and 5 other research Institutes. This ac has been repealed and replaced with the STI Act 2013.