Introduce learners to enterprise from primary schools

According to the World Bank, youth unemployment in Kenya stood at 22.1 per cent in 2017, against a youth literacy rate of 90 per cent, affirming the increasing concern of growing unemployment levels in the country, despite increased emphasis on the importance of getting an education.

According to a Kenya Youth Survey Report done in 2016, 48 per cent of Kenyan youth aspire to start their own businesses, with only 11 per cent looking to pursue careers such as Engineering, Law, Medicine and Teaching.

This is an encouraging statistic, which, however, leads to key questions. Are our youth well equipped to start and run businesses? Do they have what it takes to start sustainable ventures?

As it becomes apparent that the livelihoods of the young generation are dependent on self-employment, then there is a need to equip them with the right skills, that will enable them succeed on this front, a realisation that led to the development of the Cytonn College of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).

As entrepreneurs they will look to create wealth for themselves, their clients and employees and at the same time apply innovation to solve a problem for the society. CIE’s goal is to transform our students into entrepreneurs through training and mentorship.

In a bid to have business minded graduates, the government introduced entrepreneurship into the tertiary education system.

This was meant to ensure that every student who has an education up to tertiary level has at least a basic understanding of entrepreneurship.

The effectiveness of this is unmeasured, however, if the increasing levels of unemployment are anything to go by, then a lot needs to be done.
The aim of every education institution should be to have students exposed to practical training on entrepreneurship.

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The result of proper training on entrepreneurship, should be, individuals that are able to start, run and grow sustainable enterprises, and employed individuals that are able to contribute on ways to improve the businesses and enterprises they work for.

Some institutions have gone to the extent of having their students found businesses as part of their coursework, for which they are fully responsible.

On completion of their studies, the students are expected to sell their equity to other students.

With such a model, the student leaving this institution is able to come up with a business plan, register the business, defend it to and acquire funding from investors, market it, manage its operations, and eventually negotiate an exit.

The obvious limitation of the above model is the financial constraints. This, however, should not stop discourage trainers.

Some of the methods that can be used to ensure that students are well trained on the subject include early introduction to the subject, as early as primary school; ensuring that the entrepreneurship courses or units offered are well crafted; institutions should endeavour to partner with organisations for practical exposure.

While not everyone will start an enterprise, every employer will choose to employ a candidate with entrepreneurial skills over one who does not.

Edward Odundo, Board Chairman - Cytonn Education Services.