How innovation led to a catnip plant-based mosquito repellent to fight malaria in eastern Africa

The document examines the 'catnip project', which successfully developed an environmentally friendly mosquito repellent using local bioresources in eastern Africa. While the project demonstrated strong entrepreneurial activity and legitimacy through community involvement, it faced significant barriers in financial mobilization, policy guidance, and market creation. The analysis highlights the critical role of bio-innovation platforms like BioInnovate Africa in linking research to market, while noting that short funding cycles from aid agencies often conflict with the longer timelines required for successful innovation and commercialization.

• The 'catnip project' successfully developed a plant-based mosquito repellent for use in soaps, sprays, and lotions, utilizing locally grown catnip plants as the primary active ingredient. As of November 2024, these products were approved for commercial release and are available on the market in Burundi, where Karire Products established a factory for large-scale production.
• The innovation system for the catnip project showed strengths in entrepreneurial activity, legitimacy-building, and knowledge development. It challenged the notion that innovation in least-developed countries is merely an imitation of developed nations by relying on local R&D and involving smallholder farmers and women to create jobs.
• Bio-innovation platforms and incubators, specifically BioInnovate Africa, are essential for linking public sector actors, international research institutions, and the market to catalyze the innovation process and manage consortia.
• Significant systemic barriers hinder the upscaling and commercialization of bio-based health innovations in East Africa, including a lack of venture capital, affordable credit, and an enabling regulatory environment. The project specifically struggled with market creation and the absence of pre-existing national norms and regulations for bio-based health products.
• There is a misalignment between the funding structures of bilateral aid and public R&D programs and the actual needs of the innovation process, as the former prioritize immediate results over the longer timelines required for development.

APA

Ayoub, M., & Virgin, I. (2025). How innovation led to a catnip plant-based mosquito repellent to fight malaria in eastern Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/185818/innovation-catnip-mosquito-repellent-malaria-eastern-africa.pdf

Chicago

Ayoub, Martina, and Ivar Virgin. How innovation led to a catnip plant-based mosquito repellent to fight malaria in eastern Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2025. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/185818/innovation-catnip-mosquito-repellent-malaria-eastern-africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ayoub |first1=Martina |last2=Virgin |first2=Ivar |title=How innovation led to a catnip plant-based mosquito repellent to fight malaria in eastern Africa |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=February 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/185818/innovation-catnip-mosquito-repellent-malaria-eastern-africa.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ayoub2025how, author = {Ayoub, Martina and Virgin, Ivar}, title = {{How innovation led to a catnip plant-based mosquito repellent to fight malaria in eastern Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/185818/innovation-catnip-mosquito-repellent-malaria-eastern-africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }