Description

This is a research centre and knowledge hub for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In association with Government, professional bodies, business and community groups, it serves to contribute toward entrepreneurship and innovation in Kenya. E&I hub also provides business mentorship, consulting, counselling, coaching and support to entrepreneurs. It focuses attention on the importance of  Entrepreneurship and Innovation through teaching, research, professional and community presentations and publications.

Areas of focus

  1. Executive Education: Enterprise Development Programme, Owner-Manager Programme
  2. Undergraduate training – Practical entrepreneurship, Strathmore Students Enterprise Programme (SEP)
  3. Business Support: Business coaching, mentoring, counselling and consulting
  4. Research: Entrepreneurship and innovation research – in collaboration with industry. Areas of research include but are not limited to entrepreneurship and innovation in agribusiness, international entrepreneurship and Internationalisation of SMEs, start-ups and innovation, gender and entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship.
  5. Publications: conference proceedings, journal articles, entrepreneurship articles, policy briefs, quarterly magazine, books.
  6. Conferences: Annual SME Conference
  7. Networking: Breakfast sessions, alumni activities

Value proposition

  1. Case studies arising from practical research and aimed at solving existing entrepreneurship problems
  • Teaching cases
  • Research cases
  1. Support:
  • on research to our entrepreneurship graduate students
  • students who have entrepreneurship ideas, judges, mentors and start-ups
  1. Relevant high impact research on E&I
  • Research to address policy and practical issues of E&I for Kenya and beyond
  1. Partnerships – SME conferences, SEDC get involved in planning for visibility, IFC, MSEA
  2. Policy briefs from government engagement on E&I policy matters
  3. Industry collaborative activities – Industry high level roundtables, KEPSA, KAM, EPZ, National chambers of Commerce and Industry. Outputs to include agenda papers on research and consultancy activities
  4. Consultancy services, especially for SMEs, together with business coaching and mentoring
  5. Community service:
  • Contribution to community through social entrepreneurship
  • Help organise communities for funding opportunities
  • Linking them up with institutions
    1. Do a needs assessment in a slum area.
    2. Run an intervention project for 2 years.
  • Then with the knowledge we have, we use this as a showcase, we organise a workshop for them to produce case studies, research papers, create impact; identify possible business opportunities for them. 

On-going research projects

Government procurement programs in achieving women’s economic empowerment (Funded by IDRC). The overall objective of the project is to enhance women’s access to and participation in public procurement entrepreneurship opportunities within the framework of Kenya’s Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) initiative targeted at boosting their economic empowerment. The work is being undertaken in collaboration with the State Department of Gender and KEPSA. 

Senior researchers within the hub

  1. Prof. Ruth Kiraka
  2. Dr. Hellen Otieno
  3. Dr. Bernadette Wanjala
  4. Dr. Edward Mungai
  5. Dr. Vincent Ogutu