The School of Management and Commerce hosted the Africa Leadership Dialogues panel discussion tackling the topic; Youth and Entrepreneurship in Kenya, a discussion that was moderated by Julie Gichuru – renowned Kenyan journalist and former news anchor, and was sponsored by Rockbern Coffee Group.

The panelists that gave insights on the motivating topic were, Mr. Kris Senanu Managing Director Telkom Kenya; Mr. Peter Muchiri – Managing Director Rockbern Coffee; Ms. Michelle Ntalami – CEO and Founder Marini Naturals; and Ms. Angelica Kiboro – Deputy Principal and Registrar Strathmore Institute.

Bachelor of Commerce and Diploma in Business Management students were present at the talk in large numbers.

The panelists acknowledged that one huge global challenge in today’s society is, youth unemployment, confirming that indeed Kenya is among regions globally that suffer from this. The team therefore emphasized on the importance of inculcating entrepreneurship skills, especially at the university level, a powerful tool that can be used to deal with this menace. In the long run, economic growth is achieved from innovative solutions brought about by entrepreneurship.

The students were also educated on the need to be ethical and goal-oriented when carrying out their businesses.

After the discussions, Youth Fund representative Ms. Mary Kariuki, raised awareness about government flagship projects in line with Vision 2030 Fund, highlighting the process and requirements of application to this funds. The fund strategic focus is on enterprise development as a key strategy that will increase economic opportunities and participation by Kenyan youth in nation building. Through this fund, entrepreneurs access easy and affordable financial and business development support services.

This discussion will be aired on July 15^th, 2017 at 8 pm on KBC channel 1.