Publication: The Role of Kenyan Universities in Promoting Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
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2018
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Mount Kenya University
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Abstract
The following presentation is normative more so than analytical in the classical
academic sense. Based on five years of presence in Kenya, the presentation observes
and argues the following. First, Kenya has almost no share in the world prevalence
of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). 80% of its potential growth-creating enterprises
die before they reach beyond the family-owned stage. Few of them, even if they may
have potential IPR to unfold/defend, work with universities. Secondly, a close, longsighted
collaboration between Universities, Industries and Government is requested
to mobilize the potential of the Kenyan society when it comes to positioning itself
in the global competition among nation states (“triple helix”). This requires proactive
initiatives from all three parties and ideally an exchange of staff among the
players. In addition, unless universities, public as well as private, contribute through
developing their learning methodologies away from primarily requesting students
to reproduce at the unit-exams what the lecturer informed them about, we shall
not be able nurture and unleash the potential of innovations and entrepreneurship.
Universities must support a mistake-are- allowed (or even encouraged!) culture and
mindset, once students do their outmost. Universities in addition must pro-actively
take upon them their key role of research-based institutions generating IPR. The
fundamental and applied knowledge needed to implement strategies for Kenyan
growth in alliance with Government and Industry must come from universities and
unfold within specific partnerships with industry following strategic goals developed
in dialogue with Government. We need role models of different ways of teaching
and learning and a systematic Training of Trainers to develop a different mindset
among university lecturers, which can subsequently lead to changes in the unitbased
curricula, at least at degree-levels. Serving to illustrate the above, Copenhagen
Business School-Executive in partnership with Equip Africa Institute, has developed
a 16-month hands-on problem-solving program for SME leaders and owners. The
program, leading to a master degree for executives, sets out to bridge the gap between
academia and business and involves assignments on how to create business growth
and value addition to Kenyan companies in Kenya and when expanding abroad
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Keywords
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Triple helix, Mistakes-are-allowed culture