Mount Kenya University Attains Good Financial Grant Practice Gold Tier Certification, Deepens Research Partnership with APHRC

Thika, Kenya: Mount Kenya University (MKU) has been awarded the Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) certification at Gold Tier by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and its Global Grant Community (GGC), placing the University among a select group of African research institutions certified against ARS 1651:2018, the continent’s benchmark standard for grant financial management, developed in partnership with the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO).

The certificate will be formally handed over to the MKU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi, during the University’s 29th Graduation Ceremony, presented by Dr. Joseph Gichuru, APHRC’s Deputy Executive Director, on behalf of the Executive Director, Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi.

A 12-Month Turnaround

According to Dr. Henry Yatich, Principal College of Graduate Studies and Research at MKU, the process for the GFGP Gold Tier assessment process took 12 months, notably faster than the 18 months the same certification has taken previous research institutions. He noted that, the audit was conducted by KPMG and funded entirely by APHRC. University Management supported the process through the Management Board across several divisions, including Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, Internal Quality Assurance (IQA), the Academic, Planning and Institutional Advancement (APIA) Division, and the Academic Division leadership through the College of Graduate Studies and Research (CGSR) led by DVC ARA, Dr. Mercyline Kamande.

The GFGP standard, the world’s first international standard for grant management, sets out more than 300 requirements across four practice areas: financial management, human resources, procurement and governance. Gold Tier is the second-highest of four possible tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum), and certification signals to international funders that MKU’s systems meet a globally recognised bar for managing research funding responsibly.

Building Research Capacity Across MKU’s Five Clusters

Dr. Yatich, notes that the university is currently working closely with APHRC and that the certification builds on a broader capacity-strengthening partnership between MKU and APHRC. Under the Afrique Research Support Hub (ARSH) pipeline, delivered through APHRC’s Virtual Learning Academy (VLA), 46 MKU academic staff have completed an intensive three-week grant-writing training that requires each participant to develop and submit a research grant proposal by the end of the course.

• All five MKU clusters, Nakuru, Eldoret, Mombasa, Meru and Nairobi, have each submitted a joint grant proposal arising from the training, in the third quarter of 2026.
• MKU is targeting a 25% conversion rate for these proposals in 2026, by leaning on multi-institutional consortia and multidisciplinary teams to strengthen success rates.
• The University reports a rising number of requests from global research partners seeking joint grant applications with MKU, supporting its wider push to publish in high-indexed journals and raise the profile of its academic staff.

The Vice-Chancellor “appreciated APHRC, led by the Executive Director, Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi, together with Dr. Sindi, Dr. Ondiek and Kevin, and the KPMG audit team led by Dorcas and Sarah, for walking this journey with us. The ARSH-VLA training has already pushed all five of our clusters to submit joint grant proposals within a single quarter, and that is the kind of institutional culture we set out to build,” said the Prof JAGANYI.

“GFGP Gold Tier is not just a certificate on the wall. It is confirmation, backed by an independent KPMG audit, that our financial management, procurement, HR and governance systems can be trusted with international research funding. We are grateful to University Management across Finance, Procurement, HR, IQA and the APIA Division for making a 12-month turnaround possible,” The Deputy Executive Director, APHRC Said.

Photo caption: Dr. Joseph Gichuru, Deputy Executive Director (APHRC) Presenting the Certificate to MKU, VC during the 29th Graduation Ceremony held on 7^th August 2026

Dr. Henry Yatich, Ph.D (CIM)

Principal, CGSR