Ushahidi initiative funded: Gearbox is a GO!

We are very excited to announce early funding for Gearbox! The Lemelson Foundation, the world’s leading funder of invention in service of social and economic change, will be an early funder for Gearbox: Kenya's first open maker space for design and rapid prototyping. Gearbox is the newest member of the Ushahidi family, formed through a partnership with iHUB, BRCK, Sanergy, Mobius Motors, Knowable, and MIT. With the Lemelson Foundation's support, Gearbox is poised to transform the ecosystem of invention in East Africa.

Gearbox will support a 10,000 sq. foot workshop space outfitted with an industrial-grade wood shop, metal shop, modeling shop, electronics lab, and general fabrication shop. Additional space will be dedicated to co-working space, classrooms, offices and event space. Gearbox will also host world-class training with a variety of courses including wood and metal craftsmanship, design, electronics and entrepreneurship.

Read more about this early investment from Lemelson and what Gearbox aims to accomplish here.