- Unbuilding Africa
- Posts
- Kenya’s Self-Healing Concrete Invention Faces Tough Road to Market
Kenya’s Self-Healing Concrete Invention Faces Tough Road to Market
Liz Neke
July 01, 2025
A Kenyan professor has made headlines for inventing a self-healing concrete additive that allows building structures to repair their own cracks.
Profesor Wachira’s story was covered in the May 30th Daily Nation newspaper.
However, despite its brilliance, the product faces challenges in Kenya’s market that make successful commercialization almost impossible.
In this article:
What's The Core Innovation?
A Brief History of Self-Healing Concrete
Real-World Results and Pricing
The Harsh Realities of Bringing an Invention to Market
Why Licensing Makes the Most Sense
Why Brilliant Local Ideas Almost Never Make It
WHAT’S THE CORE INNOVATION?
Professor Muthengia’s invention, Cracksfox, is a self-healing concrete admixture that allows concrete to seal its own cracks.
At Kenya Innovation Week, President Ruto praised the invention as a symbol of Kenyan pride.
Concrete is the most used construction material in the world. Yet it’s notoriously vulnerable to cracks caused by water damage, aggressive salts like sulphates and chlorides, and the wear of time.
Over time, these cracks lead to corrosion, structural weakening, and, in extreme cases, collapse.
Globally, repairing cracked concrete costs tens of billions of dollars every year.
While data from Kenya is limited, Australia spends an estimated $70 billion annually to maintain concrete sewer pipes damaged by acid and microbial corrosion.
To solve this problem, Professor Muthengia from Embu University's Cement Technology Department developed Cracksfox, a self-healing concrete admixture that allows concrete to autonomously seal its own cracks.
The story was covered in several major local newspapers.
Unlike traditional concrete that needs manual repair when cracks appear, Cracksfox allows the healing to happen without human intervention.
A diagram showing how self-healing concrete works.
The powder, a blend of calcium oxide, carbon crystal, titanium dioxide, and silica, is designed to integrate into concrete pores and trigger a self-repair mechanism when cracks form.
An illustration of how moisture-based self-healing concrete works.
Cracksfox is Kenyan-made, moisture-activated, and designed for what Prof. Muthengia calls “the realities of the field”: boreholes in arid counties, septic tanks in flood zones, and low-income housing with no maintenance budgets.
With a shelf life of over seven years, it’s a durable solution tailored to withstand harsh environmental conditions.
The invention has sparked countrywide excitement, earning second runner-up in the 2024/25 Presidential Innovation Challenge and Awards (PIA).
Liking this so far? Don't miss out on future deep dives, subscribe now!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SELF-HEALING CONCRETE
Self-healing concrete refers to any concrete mix that can autonomously seal its own cracks, and the idea is not entirely new.
For decades, researchers worldwide have explored ways to make concrete self-repair, often using bacteria or fungi to produce crack-filling minerals.
Self-healing concrete innovations have also been recognized through various awards and nominations.
One notable example is the nomination of Basilisk Self-Healing Concrete for the Dutch Innovation Award in 2022.
Additionally, Hendrik Jonkers, the inventor of self-healing concrete, was a finalist for the European Inventor Award for his bio-concrete.
Hendrik Marius Jonkers is a Dutch microbiologist and professor best known for inventing self‑healing “bio‑concrete”.
Methods used in self-healing concrete include:
Microcapsules that release healing agents
Bacteria that precipitate minerals
Chemical additives that activate when exposed to air or moisture
Cracksfox falls in the third category of moisture-activated mineral precipitation.
When water seeps into a crack, the admixture reacts by depositing minerals that block the gap, like scar tissue for cement.
Its formula stands out for its powder-based approach, which doesn’t rely on living organisms, making it easier to store, transport, and apply, especially in regions with limited infrastructure for handling bio-based materials.
REAL-WORLD RESULTS AND PRICING
Professor Muthengia has tested Cracksfox in real projects, such as fixing a hostel at the University of Embu, a two-storey building in Thika, and water tanks.
Results show that it works well, lasting over seven years when mixed at two kilograms per bag of cement.
Priced at about KSh 300 for two kilograms (KSh 240 wholesale), it’s a bit more expensive than regular concrete, but could save money by reducing long-term repair costs.
Still, the risks are real, and the tests done so far leave many questions unanswered:
Will Cracksfox perform reliably at scale?
Can it be produced affordably and distributed widely?
Will developers trust it without international certification or long-term case studies?
Like any promising innovation, it will need much more transparent testing to earn the confidence of global players.
Don’t miss our next analysis, subscribe to get it straight in your inbox.
THE HARSH REALITIES OF BRINGING AN INVENTION TO MARKET
Launching a Kenyan product like Cracksfox on the market means dealing with many challenges, including money, logistics, and cultural barriers.
Kenya Innovation Week (KIW) is a national platform led by the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA) to spotlight and support homegrown innovation.
Every year, Kenya comes together at Innovation Week to celebrate homegrown talent, and every year, bold new ideas emerge with the potential to shape our future.
As exciting as the news on self-healing concrete may be, Kenya has no shortage of inventions.
What we lack is commercial rollout muscle.
And although the additive has already attracted attention and earned praise from President William Ruto, history has shown that political applause doesn’t always lead to industrial adoption.
Held annually, KIW brings together startups, researchers, investors, governments, and development partners.
To succeed at scale, Cracksfox would need to overcome the following challenges:
1. Scale Production
Manufacturing enough Cracksfox to meet demand requires massive investment in facilities, raw materials, and quality control. Current production is limited to small batches, far from industrial scale.
2. Compete Globally
The global self-healing concrete market, valued at $26.32 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $254.97 billion by 2033, is dominated by giants like BASF and JP Concrete. These firms have deep pockets, established supply chains, and brand trust. A Kenyan startup like Cracksfox Limited, led by Muthengia, starts at a disadvantage.
German giant BASF, a global leader in construction chemicals, poses a formidable challenge to small innovators like Professor Muthengia.
Construction is a conservative industry, bound by strict standards. Cracksfox must pass rigorous certifications in Kenya and abroad, a costly and time-consuming process. Without large-scale demonstration projects, convincing regulators and clients remains a hurdle.
4. Secure Funding
Kenya’s financial ecosystem is tough for innovators. High interest rates (often 18–20%) make loans unattractive, and venture capital for deep-tech startups is scarce. Without significant backing, scaling production and distribution is a pipe dream.
Market Map of Kenya's biggest VC and PE firms.
5. Build Trust
Convincing contractors to adopt a new product, especially one from a relatively unknown Kenyan firm, is daunting. The construction industry favors proven solutions. Cracksfox’s real-world tests are promising but limited, and scaling to major projects like highways or skyscrapers requires years of validation.
6. Manage Policy Gaps
While Kenya’s government champions innovation through events like Kenya Innovation Week, consistent support for commercialization (e.g. tax breaks, grants, or regulatory fast-tracking) is limited. Political volatility further complicates long-term investment.
KIW has grown into a major pan-African event featuring exhibitions, policy forums, startup pitches, and public-private partnerships.
WHY LICENSING MAKES THE MOST SENSE
One viable path to success for Professor Muthengia, and perhaps the most realistic, is licensing.
Large companies like Bamburi Cement will sometimes license new technology, but only if it’s proven to work, backed by strong data, and adds value to their bottom line.
Instead of going head-to-head with global giants or building a full manufacturing and distribution empire from scratch, Cracksfox Ltd is exploring licensing the technology to established players, such as:
Major Kenyan construction material firms (e.g., Bamburi, Savannah)
Regional players in East Africa, or South-South partners like India or South Africa
These companies would pay licensing fees or royalties in exchange for the right to produce, market, or embed Cracksfox into their product lines.
Global industry leaders like BASF or Sika will sometimes license local formulations for African markets, but rarely so. They prefer owning the IP.
That said, licensing comes with its own set of challenges. It requires:
A strong, enforceable patent
Reliable performance data and a clear use case
A skilled legal and business team to negotiate and manage partnerships
Still, if Cracksfox can prove its effectiveness and secure the right protections, licensing could transform it from a promising invention into a royalty-generating national asset.
All without needing to build factories or go it alone.
WHY BRILLIANT KENYAN IDEAS ALMOST NEVER MAKE IT
Professor Muthengia’s invention is a reminder that solutions to global problems can emerge from Embu’s labs just as much as from MIT or Cambridge. Yet the gap between invention and impact is vast.
KIW encourages participants across all sectors and age groups.
For every Cracksfox that succeeds, many other inventions stay stuck in labs, never making it to the market.
Success would mean factories, jobs, and global recognition for Kenya. But the realities such as high costs, global competition, and a cautious industry, makes this unlikely without extraordinary support.
The professor's journey is a microcosm of Kenya’s innovation paradox: a nation brimming with ideas, yet constrained by the hard economics of bringing them to market.
Whether Cracksfox becomes a global game-changer or a celebrated footnote, its story reminds us that innovation, while inspiring, is only the first step.
The real challenge lies in building a world where Kenya’s brightest ideas go on to generate revenue for the country.
If you found this useful, you will love our community! Subscribe.
P.S
A big part of my day job is helping mid-sized Engineering & Construction firms figure out why their growth has stalled. The symptoms are often clear, but the root causes are usually hidden.
Over time, we built a structured framework (The E&C Growth Index) to quickly uncover bottlenecks across 5 critical business areas. If you're curious what's holding your firm back, take the test. You'll get a personalized report in under 5 minutes, straight to your inbox.
Reply