UoN set to Launch an Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programme
The University of Nairobi is set to launch an Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme in September 2026. The programme will be a self-paced virtual programme through the SOMAS platform.
This was announced at the Afretec End of Year Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop. Further, the Leadership of the project also advised the University to establish a Mentorship policy and an AI and Ethics Policy.
Speaking during the Opening Ceremony, the Director, Advancement and Institutional Development, Prof. George Abong welcomed the participants to the working workshop. He applauded the efforts of pillars through the different initiatives and in achieving the goals set at the start of the year. He also noted, ‘Afretec has been implemented at the University of Nairobi for four years. Afretecc is a pan-african network of African universities comprised of 10 member universities, funded by Mastercard Foundation.
Prof. Abong’ congratulated the team for hosting the regional PI conference and Africa School of Research that brought together participants from the 10 member universities and enhanced mentorship among researchers.
While officially opening the workshop, the Vice Chancellor, UoN, Prof. Ayub Gitau reminisced how the Afretec network came about, he applauded the Directorate and the implementors, noting that, ‘Over the past four years, AFRETEC has demonstrated the power of collaboration in advancing technology-enabled education, innovation, research, entrepreneurship and skills development. The initiative has strengthened institutional capacity, empowered our students and faculty, fostered partnerships and positioned the University of Nairobi as a key contributor to Africa's digital transformation agenda.
Today, we gather not merely to review activities completed or targets achieved, but to examine the real impact of our work. We have an opportunity to ask ourselves important questions: What difference have we made? What lessons have we learned? Which approaches have yielded the greatest results? And how can we build on these successes to create even greater impact?’
Prof. Gitau pledged the Management’s commitment to support the afretec project and cautioned against mismanagement of donor processes, approvals and funds.
Afretec project is organized in four pillars namely, thr knowledge creation pillar, teaching and learning, Inclusion pillar and Impact pathways. The pillar heads are Prof. Thomas Ochuku, Prof. Leonida Kerubo, Prof. Faith Karanja and Dr. Sam Ruhiu.
Over the last year, Afretec project has reached over 100 Faculty members trained on proposal writing, 52 researchers enrolled in multidisciplinary research clusters, 285 students completed the entrepreneurship course, 120 students enrolled in company series, 59 girls in STEM, mentored, 41 students completed makerthon and, 25 students enrolled in start-ups.
Present during the workshop were the pillar heads, the Programme Manager,Ms Ann Nkoidilah, the Registrar Administration, Mr. Ken Sawe and representation from Corporate Affairs and the Secretariat.
