University-led ecosystems for sustained innovation andentrepreneurship development in Kenya
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)TECHNOPOLICY BRIEF NO. 62
Michael Ngoasong
Aqueel Wahga
Isidora Kourti
Nicholas Ozor
Wentland Muhatiah
Robert Gateru
Alfred Nyambane

University-led ecosystems for a sustained innovation andentrepreneurship development in Kenya
Michael Zisuh Ngoasong
Open University, UK
Aqueel Wahga
Open University, UK
Isidora Kourti
Open University, UK
Nicholas Ozor
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
Wentland Muhatiah
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
Robert Gateru
Riara University, Kenya
Alfred Nyambane
African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is atransdisciplinary network of researchers, policymakers, private sector
actors and the civil society promoting the generation, dissemination, use
and mastery of Science, Technology and Innovations (STI) for African
development, environmental sustainability and global inclusion. In
collaboration with like-minded institutions, ATPS provides platforms forregional and international research and knowledge sharing in order tobuild Africa’s capabilities in STI policy research, policymaking andimplementation for sustainable development.

Published by the African Technology Policy Studies
Network (ATPS)
P. O. Box 10081, 00100- GPO, Nairobi, Kenya©2023
ISBN: 978-9966-124-78-4

Table of Contents
About the Building Community Project .......................................................... ii
About Africa Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) ................................iii
About Open University...................................................................................iii
About Riara University ...................................................................................iii
About Innovation for African Universities (IAU) .............................................iv
Acknowledgement ..........................................................................................v
Key Messages.................................................................................................vi
1.Introduction ................................................................................................ 1
2.Methodology .............................................................................................. 4
3.Major Findings ............................................................................................ 44.Conclusion .................................................................................................. 8
5.Policy Recommendations ............................................................................ 9
References ....................................................................................................11
ATPS Technopolicy Brief Series .....................................................................13iAbout the Building Community Project

The University-led Ecosystems for a Sustained Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Development (UESIED) community engagement project, funded by the British
Council through the inaugural Innovation for African Universities (IAU) delivers on
this commitment to co-create university-led ecosystems as collaborative spaces toprepare graduates for the job market and to strengthen the institutional capacity ofuniversities through curriculum adaptation and entrepreneurship.
Many factors influence the decision of young student entrepreneurs to start abusiness. These can be either internal or external factors influenced by the risks andrewards of doing so. Fears and risks are more evident for university students withno prior business experience and entrepreneurship skill set. For this reason,
universities should support entrepreneurial behaviour among students to encourage
the creation of sustainable innovation start-ups and spin-offs between academic andbusiness environments. This support is largely lacking in universities in Kenya. The
UESIED project promotes university-led ecosystems as anchoring institutions fordelivering self-sustaining innovation and entrepreneurship education specifically for
the Kenyan universities participating in the Innovation for African Universities
Programme.
The project has uncovered the university structures and operations that can inform
policies relating to entrepreneurial universities in Kenya, with reference to theattainment of four UN SDGs, namely: (1) to strengthen the means of implementationof partnership for sustainable development (SDG 17); (2) multi-stakeholder
dialogues explore how partnerships can be more impactful in influencing policies;(3) one-to-one consultations with representative stakeholders to inform a model
depicting how the partnerships operating within Kenyan universities can be selfsustaining as regional innovation hubs that contribute to employment creation (SDG
8) and (4) propose innovative methods for reinforcing quality education bydisseminating knowledge on how partnerships tackle the tensions that requirecross-cultural learning (SDG 4).

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About Africa Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a transdisciplinary networkof researchers, policymakers, private sector actors and civil society promoting thegeneration, dissemination, use and mastery of Science, Technology and Innovations(STI) for African development, environmental sustainability and global inclusion.
ATPS has over 1,300 members and 3000 stakeholders in over 51 countries in 5
continents with institutional partnerships worldwide. We implement our programs
through members in national chapters established in 30 countries (27 in Africa and3 Diaspora chapters in Australia, the United States of America, and the United
Kingdom). In collaboration with like-minded institutions, ATPS provides platforms
for regional and international research and knowledge sharing in order to build
Africa’s capabilities in STI policy research, policymaking and implementation forsustainable development.

About Open University

The Open University (OU) is a British public research university established in 1969.
The university administration is now based at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, inBuckinghamshire, but has administration centres in other parts of the United
Kingdom. It also has a presence in other European countries. The university awards
undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as non-degree qualifications suchas diplomas and certificates or continuing education units. It also offers unique Open
Degrees, in which students may study any combination of modules across all
subjects. Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell
Burnell, broadcaster Anna Ford and actress Glenda Jackson are among a host of wellknown names who have tutored for the OU.

About Riara University

The university is established under the Universities Act (2012), having been
approved by the Commission for University Education to operate under a Letter ofInterim Authority since 2 August 2012. The university is fully accredited by theCouncil of Legal Education. The university holds Full Accreditation status from the
Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board (KASNEB) as aTraining Centre as well as an Examinations Centre. The university runs Certified
Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Secretary (CS), and Accounting Technicians
Diploma (ATD) courses under this accreditation. Riara University nurtures innovatorsand exposes students to not only to international standards but offer students agreat opportunity to great networks in education and other disciplines.

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About Innovation for African Universities (IAU)

The Community Building Grant for undertaking the stakeholder consultations to
produce this policy brief has been provided by the British Council as a policy
engagement project through the inaugural Innovation for African Universities (IAU)
Programme Community of Practice. Youths are Africa’s greatest asset which is
rapidly growing and is expected to double to over 830 million by 2050. If properly
harnessed, this increase in the working-age population could support increased
productivity and more robust, more inclusive economic growth across the continent.
In response to this need, the British Council developed and designed the IAU
Programme, part of the Going Global Partnerships programme. The IAU Programmeaims to foster the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within universities andfacilitate the development of skills required to build industries, companies, products
and services. In addition, the programme is designed to support the development ofAfrica – UK University Partnerships that build institutional capacity for HE
engagement in entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems in selected Africancountries. The IAU programme is implemented by a Centre of Excellence, apartnership between the City University of London, the University of Nairobi, andChange School UK. The programme comprises 24 partnerships of the UK universities,
SSA universities and entrepreneurial ecosystem organisations and runs in Kenya,
Nigeria, Ghana & South Africa.

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Acknowledgement
This policy brief was co-produced by Open University Business School, African
Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and Riara University with funding fromthe British Council through the inaugural Innovation for African Universities
Programme (IAU). The ATPS takes this opportunity to thank all the stakeholders fromuniversities, industry and governmental agencies in Kenya, the lead researchers andfacilitators for their efforts in contributing to the success of the research, especiallyamid continued restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Special thanks to themembers of the Accelerating Entrepreneurship Support in Universities (AESU) in
Kenya, for their input and support throughout the study period. The OU and ATPS
also thank the AESU managers at Riara University for their technical input andsupport throughout the study period.

vKey Messages
 A university-led ecosystem refers to the collaborative network of universities,
research institutions, industries, and government bodies working together tofoster innovation, research, and knowledge transfer to develop solutions tosocietal challenges. The university-led ecosystem targets to drive economic
growth, promote technological advancements, and address local and global
issues through research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
 Nurturing an entrepreneurial culture within universities and research institutions
is vital. Providing training, mentorship, and networking opportunities to students
and researchers encourages the commercialization of research outcomes, theestablishment of startups, and the creation of job opportunities. If university-led
ecosystems are to be sustainable, they must endeavor to capture the multiple
identities of universities under the umbrella of innovation and entrepreneurship.
 The sustainability of university-led ecosystem in Kenya has been hampered bychallenges such as insufficient collaboration between universities and industries,
resulting in gaps between research outcomes and their practical applications.
Furthermore, a lack of collaboration and coordination among universities andresearch institutions has limited the ecosystem's impact, which is critical for
creating a vibrant and interconnected university-led ecosystem. To unlock the fullpotential of Kenya's university-led ecosystem and drive sustainable development
and innovation, collaborative efforts by stakeholders will be crucial in addressingthese challenges.
 Trust and accountability concerns amongst ecosystem stakeholders are derailing
universities' ability to play an anchoring role in regional economic and social
development due to the silo mentality and implementation of initiatives inisolation.

vi

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries risk harbouring 87 percent of the world's
poorest people by 2030 if economic difficulties are not solved (Ofori et al., 2021).
Enhancing entrepreneurial activities in SSA is one of the most certain means ofaverting the potential calamity. The rapid growth in output of prospering economies
such as the developing Asian Tigers has been driven more by entrepreneurial energy
and government-backed small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) initiatives(Ahmed & Nwankwo, 2013). However, entrepreneurship has not had a pleasant ridein SSA. The slow expansion of entrepreneurial activity in SSA could be attributed toseveral factors, including a deplorable condition of education and support
infrastructure, a hostile atmosphere for micro-entrepreneurship, and limited accessto credit, to name a few (Ahmed & Nwankwo, 2013). The research of the Open
University Business School on curriculum adaptation and digital entrepreneurship in
the context of resource scarcity in African countries emphasizes the importance ofstrategic and operational commitment within universities in increasing access toentrepreneurship education and job creation (Ngoasong, 2022; Ngoasong, 2018).
Kenya has a development roadmap known as Vision 2030, which aspires totransform the country into a globally competitive and wealthy middle-income nation
through industrialization. The Vision is built on three pillars: economic, social, andpolitical, with science, technology, and innovation serving as the foundation for all
three. The major drivers of the development strategy are competitiveness andindustrialization. This places knowledge-generating institutions, such as universities
and research institutes, squarely at the heart of Kenya's development strategy (Boloet al., 2015). Industry executives are increasingly pressing for research that isrelevant to the sector's requirements. Many universities have changed theirgovernance structure in response to rising criticism, establishing high-ranking
officials such as Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs) to oversee university innovation,
entrepreneurship, extension, and community engagement programs. In response to
the piling pressure, many universities have altered their governance structure,appointing high-ranking officials such as Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs) to oversee
university innovation, entrepreneurship, extension, and community outreachprograms.
University education is key to the development of a country’s economy. The Kenyan
educational system has over the years churned graduates prepared to be employedin various firms across the country. Every year about 50,000 students graduate
across universities in Kenya ready to enter the job market (Kirui, 2019). However,1most of them remain unemployed because of the limited industries that are growing
at an annual rate of 5% (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics [KNBS], 2016). This has
seen the number of unemployed graduates in society soar every year.
As the Kenyan economy moves in the direction of entrepreneurial and technologicaldevelopment in a bid to fulfil Vision 2030, universities have been compelled toconform to the new shift by going beyond their traditional instructional and research
approaches. A commercial approach has slowly been cementing itself in theuniversities over the years. Universities are playing a critical role in building linkages
with various ecosystem partners to not only enhance their research but also give
their students the necessary training that they need to be able to be self-reliant(Marwanga, 2009). Subsequently, universities have started establishing their
university-based incubators, tech hubs and industrial parks. These are aimed at
supporting students who have decided to start their entrepreneurial ventures tohave their ventures up and running upon graduation. Some of the university
incubator facilities available in the country include @iBizAfrica from Strathmore
University, Chandaria Business Innovation and Incubation Centre from Kenyatta
University, C4D Lab from University of Nairobi , Business Incubation Centre from
Mount Kenya University, KCA Business Incubator from Kenya College of Accountancy
University amongst many others (Wachira, 2017).
1.2 Rationale
Kenya faces a rising unemployment burden that is straining the university education
system. Inadequate infrastructure, inadequate number and capacity of academic
staff, inadequate research capacity, as well as weak collaboration between
academia and industry have created a large gap between demand for, and access torelevant university education. Regionally, Kenyan universities are supported todevelop entrepreneurship within local researchers, academic and industry circles.
There are inadequate resources to cater for the mismatch between what universities
teach (theory-driven) and what the industry needs (practical skills and experience).
Kenya’s 2019 policy framework for sustaining development shows commitment
from the Kenyan government to create an enabling environment for public-private
partnerships and centres of excellence in university education (Ministry of
Education, 2019). This situation opens opportunities for new frameworks foruniversity-industry-government partnerships to be effective as self-sustaining
regional innovation hubs within their existing university structures (British Council,
2021).
Given the above background, this policy brief proposes a policy framework forcreating and sustaining university-led ecosystems in Kenya with two interlinked
features. First, ecosystems as inter-organisational collaborations bringing together2members that collaborate across organisational, professional, sectoral andsometimes national boundaries. There are inherent tensions that can be addressedby developing a professional identity (knowledge, disposition, and attitudes) that
constitutes the critical enabler for achieving the collaborative aims (Kourti, 2021)
that are characteristic of an entrepreneurial university (Audretsch & Belitski, 2022).
This in turn enables universities to become anchoring institutions in collaboratingwith ecosystem partners to play a transformative role in uplifting local economies(Harris & Holley, 2016).
Considering our limited understanding of the impact of the processes and activities
in the transformation of Kenyan universities into entrepreneurial universities,
especially with respect to the influence of policy, we seek to address two keyquestions:a) How do partners within a university-led ecosystem bring forward different
professional identities and how do these identities affect the network's
success as self-sustaining innovation hubs in Kenya?
b) How does Higher Education Institutions (HEI)-Industry-Government (policy)
engagement enable universities to act as anchoring institutions whose
professional identity enables them to function as entrepreneurial universities
in Kenya?
Knowledge exchange within multistakeholder forums is a useful avenue forinvestigating and interrogating and addressing the above questions. Ourinvestigation provides new insights into how university-ecosystem partnerships
tackle administrative huddles with respect to contracts, collaborative working andcomplex tensions that require cross-cultural and professional learning in the waythat universities are driving innovation. Through data-informed work, we can build
strong collaborations that can achieve the best outcome of networks necessary cancontribute to the upliftment of local economies. The evidence base strengthens
engagement within academic and policy settings.
The findings in this study will contribute to the wider evidence base within the remitof the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA). KeNIA is a state corporation under
the Ministry of Education, mandated to develop and manage the National
Innovation System. At the time of producing this policy brief, KeNIA was coordinating
the entrepreneurial and innovation potential of universities in Kenya with the visionof being a key enabler of socio-economic development through innovation.

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2. Methodology
The collection of data was conducted using a mixed approach. Both primary andsecondary data were collected and analysed. Secondary data and information wereobtained through desk studies, where all relevant grey literature was reviewed andanalysed while primary data were obtained through Surveys (questionnaires), Key
Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The selected Key
Informants and FGD participants were drawn from stakeholders in the academia anduniversity ecosystem players. Policy dialogues and consultations were also
conducted. They were unstructured in that they did not stick to a pre-defined set ofquestions, rather they were open-ended to allow stakeholders to discuss how
universities in Kenya are innovative/entrepreneurial, how membership within auniversity-led ecosystem enables partners to bring forward different professional
identities and the role of University-Industry-Government engagement in sustaining
university-led ecosystems in Kenya.

3. Major Findings
3.1 Innovative and/or entrepreneurial capacities of Kenyan universities
Universities undertake several initiatives which demonstrate their entrepreneurial
charter (Table 1): entrepreneurship education through incubation/acceleration
centres, collaborations with local businesses, engaging business leaders as expert
advisers (e.g., Board Membership), and income diversification through investing
surplus funds and/or renting out fixed assets.
Table 1. The entrepreneurial character of universities in Kenya
Initiatives

Areas of concern

Teaching entrepreneurship

The theoretical aspect is dominant

Business incubation centres andaccelerators

Not present in all HEIs
The success of spin-offs is less known

University-owned enterprises

Limited evidence

Investments of funds in fixed deposits

Not every university does it

Rental income from assets

Every university did not benefit from this strategy– First mover advantage

Business leaders become members ofgovernance bodies

Emerging trend but less evident in public sector
universities

Partnering with businesses

Scale and scope are limited

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Universities are finding new ways of generating economic and social impact onsociety. However, the scale and scope of existing initiatives are limited across thesector. Moreover, there is limited evidence of university-owned enterprises andfaculty engagement with enterprise development. The evidence from theconsultations revealed the following areas for consideration in strengthening theprofessional identity of university-led ecosystems:● Entrepreneurship development programmes focusing on applied/practiceoriented ways of learning can be introduced. It is vital because entrepreneurshipcan be learned by doing and taking initiative rather than just gaining theoreticalknowledge.
● Offering innovative products and services that can support agriculture, industry
and service sectors to ensure the widening participation of all the sectors of theeconomy feeding into the local and regional economic development andstrengthening the national innovation system.
● Limiting bureaucracy to seek approvals for undertaking entrepreneurial
initiatives so that people make better use of their time and effort by working on
innovative ideas and their commercialisation.
● Promoting all aspects of the enterprise – economic, social and ethical because amore responsible ecosystem should serve all three purposes protecting thepeople, profit and the planet.
● Funding, people (both faculty and students) and incentives to promote
innovation and entrepreneurship because resource deficient contexts cannot
allow for radical innovations to happen although they may partially help withincremental innovations.
3.2 University-led ecosystem in the Kenyan context
A university-led ecosystem is a network of stakeholders, anchored to a university.
Within a university-led ecosystem, collaborative and entrepreneurial thinking
creates innovative solutions to societal problems. This enables Kenyan universities
to be anchoring institutions that confederate key stakeholders for socio-economic,
political, technological, and cultural development of their region(s). This
understanding of a university-led ecosystem has been derived from our analysis of
the perspectives provided by our study participants. The stakeholders provided
different definitions, but there were common themes, summarised in the
representative quotations below:‘[…] an ecosystem centred on the University, with the right environment, structures,
partnerships, people, and culture to spur innovation from diverse stakeholders of theuniversity, both internally (students, staff, faculty, researchers) and externally(industry partners, and community)’ [University Stakeholder 1]5‘[…] a collaboration of different actors aimed at catalysing mind-sets change
through creating platforms for ideation and nurturing innovations throughknowledge/skills sharing […] providing the practical approaches through the nonuniversity partners’ [University Stakeholder 2]‘[…] providing knowledge and skills to the students; […] networking them with theindustry practitioners; mentoring them; […] equipping the practitioners with up-todate research-based knowledge/skills; forging partnerships to spearhead creativity
and innovation for holistic societal transformation [University Stakeholder 3].
‘Involves providing for policy formulation and implementation; solving existential
problems; creating technological products; and producing new knowledge that canbe adapted for economic, political and social improvement’ [University Stakeholder
4]‘[…] combinations of social, political, economic and cultural elements within aregion, supporting the development of innovation and encouragement of nascententrepreneurial activity and culture’ [Industry Stakeholder 1]‘[…] a partnership of different actors aimed at transforming mindsets and creating
platforms for innovation through knowledge/skills sharing. More importantly,
providing the practical approaches via the non-university partners […] [Industry
Stakeholder 2][involves universities being recognized as partners, rather than competitors, who
need each other because each partner has a niche and strengths that they bring into
the mix … universities will need strong institutional leadership with the mostqualified people working in collaboration.] [Government Representative 1]

An appreciation of the importance of universities as anchoring institutions within
the ecosystem is what emerges from the above definitions. The understanding ofmultiple Kenyan stakeholders (universities, industry, and government) about anentrepreneurial university also refers to the fact that the seeds for transforming
conventional universities into entrepreneurial universities are there. However, thegermination of these seeds is subject to active and responsible collaborations
between the stakeholders allowing the universities to act as a nucleus and serve therole of an anchoring institute. Being the knowledge hubs, acting as anchoring
institutions through their boundary-spanning activities, Kenyan universities canenter into local and international collaborations and develop their capacity tosupport innovation and entrepreneurship. It is only through successful
collaborations with the key actors of the Kenyan ecosystem that universities can act
as transformative and entrepreneurial universities. This will enable them to act as
catalysts for addressing societal problems through knowledge sharing and skills
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development and lead a positive transformation within their regional economies byshaping their economic, social, cultural, technological, and political dynamics.
3.3 Professional identity development in university-led ecosystems
Universities equate their professional identity with their scope of initiatives andprojects. Examples of specialisations included Science and Technology University,
Management University, Leadership and Governance Centre, and University ofAgriculture and Technology. However, moving forward, some universities aspire todevelop new identities such as the ‘institution for industrialization and employment
creation through entrepreneurship and innovation. (Both universities and industries
in the university-led ecosystem suggest promoting innovations andentrepreneurship for supporting industrial development will become a top agenda
for those universities aspiring to develop their identity as entrepreneurial
universities.
Realigning their identity can enable universities to better cater for the emerging
needs of their respective regions. However, the sustainable ecosystem will have tocapture the multiple identities of universities under the umbrella of innovation andentrepreneurship. This can be achieved by making more effective use of some of theexisting networks such as The Education Collaborative 1 where universities can startthe discourse on re-orienting their visions and missions for embedding innovationand entrepreneurship into their systems. Such impactful networks can lead to achange in the professional identities of universities transforming them into
entrepreneurial universities and making them active seats of learning andknowledge exchange rather than staying as passive educational institutions playing
no or limited role in societal development.
3.4 Strengthening University-Industry-Government (policy) engagements
The linkages are weak among University-Industry-Government therefore, hindering
the development of an effective, impactful, and sustainable university-led
ecosystem in Kenya. This limits the anchoring role of universities in regional
economic and social development. Moreover, the goals of the tripartite initiatives
are less clear and not hooked within defined ecosystems. There are some links
established between the three actors, but they are very weak. These weak linkages
are evidenced by instances where collaborations do not lead to the development ofsustained ecosystems which limits the anchoring role of universities in the region’s
economic and social development. Also, some initiatives are taken in isolation, partly
due to trust and accountability issues. As such, the goals of the tripartite initiatives
are less clear and not hooked on the development of an ecosystem.
1

https://educationcollab.ashesi.edu.gh/
7There is a need to strengthen the National Innovation System through more
effective engagement of universities, industry, and county councils atregional/country levels. For instance, Riara University is one of eight university
leaders that are partners of the East Africa Hub, launched by Asheshi University-led
Education Collaborative, in August 2021. Another good example that is currently
ongoing is the programme run by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). ECA is
the regional arm of the United Nations in Africa with a mandate to promote theeconomic and social development of Africa. As a foremost knowledge policy
institution in Africa, ECA seeks to engage bright young Africans for skills and capacity
development, training, and mentorship through a fellowship programme within
ECA’s work programme.

4. Conclusion
University, industry, and policy stakeholders, through active consultation,
collaboration and partnership, can find common ground to greatly improve accessto enterprise and innovation education while strengthening Kenya’s universities asanchoring institutions for employment creation and sustainable development. The
growing employability burden calls for urgent education and industry linkage toinnovate and unleash the much-needed infrastructure and improve employability.
This requires a multi-sectorial, multi-stakeholder approach that is anchored within
universities and championed by committed leadership.
Through the community engagement project in Kenya, the following can beconcluded:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)

Many stakeholders know what needs to be done and where gaps are but lackmechanisms for capturing and disseminating the same to policymakers.
Stakeholders are ready to engage with institutions but lack themechanisms/structures.
National and County governments in Kenya are keen to work with universities
and other stakeholders and professionals to boost youth entrepreneurship,value-addition of products and services, and job creation.
There is a general lack of capacity for effective engagements between
universities, governments, industry, and communities, despite the willingnessof all to undertake collaborative work.

85. Policy Recommendations
For sustained innovation and entrepreneurship development in Kenyan universities,
the following policy recommendations are proffered:
Recommendation 1: University-led ecosystem stakeholders need to develop apolicy framework with clear implementation pathways in order to formalise intersectoral ecosystems to boost economic growth:
A policy framework with a clear path to implementation needs to be developed byactors from government, private sector and universities. This framework can turninformal ecosystems that are not well connected into formal ecosystems which work
across sectors. Once the legal framework is in place, digital platforms can provide
tools and services to speed up growth and cut costs through the synergy ofmultilateral interactions based on shared visions, rules, and principles of universityled ecosystems. However, two significant obstacles may hinder the turning of thesector-based ecosystems into an inter-sectoral ecosystem in boosting local
economic growth: i) incorporating overlapping sectoral and functional roles of key
stakeholders in economic development and integrating overlapping educationrelated initiatives run by university, industry, and government agencies into acentrally coordinated network, and ii) mobilizing resources (such as financial,technical, and operational) to allow private economic operators and local
community groups to actively participate in university-led ecologies. A legal
foundation with clear rules and principles of self-government, transparency,
networking, and equality for all ecosystem partners is required to make unregulated
relationships official. Secondly, using digital technology to improve the effectivenessof the inter-sectoral ecosystem by creating a way for an unlimited number of actors
in the sectors and industries at the county and/or national level to interact freely
with each other.
Recommendation 2: The government, private sector, and university actors need towork together to develop an entrepreneurial identity in the university-led
ecosystem in order to create entrepreneurial and innovative solutions for economic
development:
Structures and operational problems that make it harder for the university-led
ecosystem and professionals to work together to solve societal problems are causedby the fact that professionals have different identities that are not always in line with
their desire to be entrepreneurial or creative. Even though there is no fixed or predefined "entrepreneurial identity" that an entrepreneur could aim for, there aremany factors in the ecosystem that could lead to the emergence, creation, andgrowth of a robust business environment. A university-led ecosystem could help
entrepreneurs build their identities by accelerating interventions in many different
9areas, such as financial support, knowledge building, networking, training,
mentoring, and building communities. Depending on the entrepreneurial profile andneeds of each partner, these interventions could be used in different ways to help
develop the entrepreneurial identity and change the entrepreneurial profiles of theecosystem partners.
Recommendation 3: The government needs to fortify ties between academia andindustry to strengthen the National Innovation System in order to improvecommercialization of innovations, technologies and products:
Stakeholders need to engage with government to strengthen the NIS in improving
commercial success of innovations and technologies. Weak ties between universities
and industry have hampered efforts to establish a robust and efficient NIS. As theircore business, universities are uniquely positioned to be linchpins in innovative
research. In terms of products and services, the industry, on the other hand, is eager
to meet the needs of the growing population. Strong ties between these two sectors
will help the National Innovation System keep up with the country's wealth creation,
promote social welfare, and international competitiveness. These can only beachieved if universities and industry stop working in silos and instead look for areas
where they can collaborate to capitalize on their synergies. If this is to beaccomplished, an effective national innovation system will be prepared to tap into
the growing stock of global knowledge, assimilate and adapt it to local needs, andcreate new knowledge and technologies as appropriate for local communities.

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Ngoasong, M. Z. (2018). Digital Entrepreneurship in a Resource-Scarce Context: afocus on entrepreneurial digital competencies. Journal of Small Business andEnterprise Development, 25(3): 483-50.
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Ofori, I. K., Armah, M. K., Taale, F., & Ofori, P. E. (2021). Addressing the severity
and intensity of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: How relevant is the ICT andfinancial development pathway? Heliyon, 7(10), e08156.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08156
Wachira, K. (2017). The role of university-based business incubator strategy onenterprise growth in Kenya [Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture andTechnology].

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ATPS Technopolicy Brief Series• Eco-innovation Policies for Sustainable Development in Africa (ATPSTechnoPolicy Brief No. 61)• Institutional Landscape for Eco-innovation Development in Africa (ATPSTechnoPolicy Brief No. 60)• Policy and Institutional Framework for Ecological Organic Agriculture in Benin(ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 59)• Institutional Framework for Ecological Organic Agriculture in Kenya (ATPSTechnoPolicy Brief No. 58)• Policy and Institutional Framework for Ecological Organic Agriculture in
Senegal (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 57)• Advancing Ecological Organic Agriculture in Nigeria (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief
No. 56)• Policy and Institutional Framework for Ecological Organic Agriculture in
Rwanda (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 55)• Bridging Climate Information Gaps to Strengthen Capacities for Climate
Informed Decision (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 54)• Embracing Open Contracting in Africa (ATPS Technopolicy Brief No. 53)• The Digital Revolution, Open Science, and Innovation for Open Science
Development in sub-Saharan Africa (ATPS Technopolicy Brief No. 52)• Nouvelles approaches de fi nancement de la recherché et de L’innovaƟ on en
Afrique (ATPS Technopolicy Brief No. 51)• New Approaches for Funding Research and InnovaƟ on in Africa (ATPSTechnopolicy Brief No. 50)• Towards Effective Public-Private Partnerships in Research and Innovation: A
perspective for African Science Granting Councils (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief
No. 49)• Innovative Practices and Policies for Promoting Biodiversity Informatics in Sub
Saharan Africa (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 48)• Improving the Relevance of University Training to Labour Market Demands inAfrica (ATPS TechnoPolicy brief No.47)• Developing Policies for Biodiversity Informatics in sub-Saharan Africa (ATPSTechnopolicy brief No. 46)• ICTs role in Agricultural Development: Prospects of Land Potential Knowledge
System (LandPKS) ((ATPS TechnoPolicy brief No. 45)
13• Mainstreaming Gender in the National Science, Technology and Innovation(STI) Policy of Kenya (ATPS TechnoPolicy brief No. 44)• Social Innovation: An untapped Resource for Inclusive Green Growth (ATPSTechnoPolicy brief No. 43)• Policy Axes that can uphold Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change
Adaptation & Food Security in Central Africa: Case of Cameroon, Equatorial
Guinea and Central African Republic (ATPS TechnoPolicy brief No. 42)• Frameworks for Intellectual Property Protection of Traditional Knowledge inTanzania (ATPS TechnoPolicy brief No. 41)• Assessment of Possible Intellectual Property Protection Options of Traditional
Knowledge System in Ethiopia (ATPS TechnoPolicy brief No. 40)• Towards influencing National Legislation, Policies, Strategies and Programmes
for appropriate Protection and Benefit-Sharing of Traditional Knowledge (TK)with and by Traditional Herbalists in Uganda. (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No 39)• Traditional Healers and their provision of Mental Health Services in
Cosmopolitan Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. (ATPS TechnoPolicy
Brief No. 38)• Policy Implications for Intellectual Property Systems for Traditional Healers in
Lesotho. (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 37)• Incidence of Indigeneous and Innovative Climate Change Adaptation Practices
for Smallholder Framers’ Livelihood Security in Chikhwawa District, Southern
Malawi. (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No.36)• Machobane Farming System and its Relevance to Climate Change Policy inLesotho. (ATPS TechnoPolicy Brief No. 35)

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African Technology Policy
Studies Network (ATPS)
Contact Executive Director:
executivedirector@atpsnet.org
8th Floor Chancery Building,Valley Road
P. O. Box 10081-00100, Nairobi
Tel: +254 (020) 2714092
www.atpsnet.org

Science Technology and Innovation for
African Development
ISBN: 978-9966-124-78-4

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