CoELIB | Egerton University

Entrepreneurship & Business Skills Development

Empowering Visionaries, Fueling Success: Mastering Entrepreneurship & Business Skills

The Entrepreneurship and Business Skills Development program is a three-stage program that takes six months to complete. The stages are Pre-ideation, Ideation, and Business Development. Throughout the program, CoELIB provides support and resources for the participants, including incubation, business and market development, entrepreneurship and business skills development, business linkages and networking and access to finance. These components ensure participants are equipped with the tools they need to succeed in business.

In the Pre-ideation stage, participants are introduced to the basics of business and entrepre- neurship and encouraged to think creatively about potential business ideas. Ideation involves brainstorming and refining these ideas with the help of experienced mentors and coaches. During Business Development, participants put their ideas into action with support from CoELIB and its partners.

CoELIB helps participants overcome some of the most common barriers to business success by providing access to finance and business linkages. Through this program, CoELIB is creating a new generation of business leaders and fostering economic growth and development in Eastern, Southern and Western Africa.

CoELIB hosts enterprise start-up and business development seminars and workshops covering various topics focused on the challenges and solutions that entrepreneurs face. These women-targeted sessions serve as learning and knowledge-sharing opportunities.

CoELIB makes a concerted effort to develop the skills of students and entrepreneurs from the community through the delivery of entrepreneurship and business management skills training. Training programmes are hosted quarterly. Entrepre-neurship and business skills training culminate in developing business ideas and business/market plans.

The co-location of businesses in an environment where shared services are offered reduces the risk of business failure, especially during the vulnerable first 24 months. Providing access to subsidized rental space is, therefore, a significant advantage. The shared locality provides opportunities for knowledge-sharing between incubates.

CoELIB offers physical space, including meeting rooms, shared reception, parking, training rooms, a kitchen, boardrooms, and hot-desking. It also provides shared services such as copiers, wireless networks and printing to reduce the administrative burden on incubates. The critical elements of this service include the recruitment, management and graduation of incubates.