MKU & MUBS Launch an East African Business Plan Competition
Mount Kenya University (MKU) and Makerere University Business School (MUBS) has launch a joint East African Business Plan Competition during the STEP Commissioning Ceremony.
The launch ceremony, which was held at Mount Kenya University Thika on Thursday 25th April, 2019 was spearheaded by Madam Jane Nyutu, MKU Co-Founder, assisted by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stanley Waudo, and graced by two guests from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nairobi, Madam Ursula Koos (Head of Section for Culture and Education) and Mr. Max Mehler (Third Secretary) as well as Madam Remmie Kirunda from MUBS representing the Principal, Prof. Balunywa Waswa.
The MKU Co-Founder, Madam Jane Nyutu (in a pink skirt-suit), Madam Ursula Koos from the German Embassy in Nairobi, (standing next to the MKU Co-Founder), Mr. Max Mahler, also from the German Embassy in Nairobi (standing at the extreme back), Madam Remmie Kirunda from MUBS (in a long dress), Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stanley Waudo, a section of the STEP trainers; and a few the commissioned STEP students. The latter are displaying their certificates.
The ceremony also coupled as the Commissioning Ceremony that involved awarding of certificates to the 62 students who are beneficiaries the Students Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion (STEP) which has been going on from January to April 2019 at MKU Thika Campus. STEP project at MKU in 2019 was sponsored by DAAD under the 3 year Collaboration of Entrepreneurial Universities (CEPU) project. CEPU is a consortium of 2 Kenyan universities and 5 German universities. STEP involves giving financial loans of Ksh10,000 to groups of 5 to 7 students to carry out their businesses at the University as a co-curricular activity as they are also taken through the theoretical principals of entrepreneurship. They return the seed capital at the end of the 12 weeks training and keep the profits made.
Following the launch of the joint MKU – MUBS Business Plan Competition, a call will be released soon targeting MKU and MUBS students and staff to submit Business Plans (BPs) concepts for review within a specified period of time. Students and staff will be expected to form joint teams in BP concepts development before submission. Five teams of about 25 combined students and staff from MKU and a similar number from MUBS will be shortlisted for awards. The 25 MKU applicants will be ferried by road to MUBS to join the MUBS 25 (Magical Number?). The 50 of them will be trained for 3 days, assisted to form new joint MKU – MUBS teams who shall work together to resubmit and present jointly completed BPs for the final selection by a panel of judges. The best over-all winners of the combined MKU – MUBS teams will be awarded cash prizes totaling to Ksh 200,000 and free incubation of their ideas to commercialization. Awaiting the release of the call, the MKU and MUBS leadership will have to work hard to have industry stakeholders come on board who will sponsor the entire cost of the project. MUBS has been running the BPs competitions for about 7 consecutive years targeting the whole of Uganda. The new joint initiative will soon be expanded to target innovators and entrepreneurs from the entire of the East African region. During the launch, the MKU Co-Founder, Madam Jane Nyutu and the MKU VC, Prof. Stanley Waudo thanked the MUBS Principal, Prof. Balunywa Waswa for extending the BPs Competition initiative to MKU as a strategic partner. MKU students and staff are advised to start preparing their concepts awaiting the call for submission.
Photos
Awarding of the Guests:
The MKU Co-Founder, Madam Jane Nyutu, presenting a branded MKU gift pack to Mr. Max Mehler from the German Embassy in Nairobi.
MKU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stanley Waudo presenting a branded MKU gift pack to Madam Remmie Kirunda from MUBS
MKU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stanley Waudo presenting a branded MKU gift pack to Madam Ursula Koos (Head of Section for Culture and Education), German Embassy, Nairobi.
