Why business owners are widening their scope

A third of businesses started in the country do not survive the first three years of operation, due to poor business management skills. Many institutions have come up with broad training for owners to enable them deal with new challenges. PHOTO /PHOTOS.COM
By JUSTUS ONDARIPosted Wednesday, June 3 2009 at 14:50

To most of his clients, staff, relatives and close friends, Mr Sawa Hassan Kassim needs no further training as far as running his construction business is concerned.

Why would he need it given his educational background and experience? Besides being a qualified civil engineer, Mr Kassim has successfully managed his Mombasa-based company, Tandaza Contractors Ltd, since establishing it in 1992.

Yet, the 43-year-old recently graduated from an International Finance Corporation (IFC) initiated programme with an executive certificate in entrepreneurship management.

“I needed to improve my skills, find new ways of managing my finances, human resources and even business systems because the business environment is constantly changing, especially now that we are facing an economic slowdown and a global financial crisis,” he says.

Graduate

But he is not alone. Joseph Gichunge, who has been running his business for the last three years, is another graduate of the same programme.

“I felt it was necessary for me to know how to take my business to the next level,” says Mr Gichunge, whose marketing company, Sikiliza Marketing Services Ltd, boasts of a client base that includes Zain Kenya, Hyperteck Africa and CFC Stanbic Bank.

The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) through its enterprise wing JKUATES, in collaboration with Zetech College programme, offers the programme, which targets owners and senior managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Defined as businesses employing up to 50 people, there are about one million SMEs in the country, employing 2.4 million people, which constitutes about 18 per cent of the country’s employed workforce.

The training covers business management and planning, marketing and customer management techniques, networking and negotiation, bookkeeping and finance, policy and legal issues in business and information and communication technology for SMEs.

“The programme seeks to fill the knowledge gap that exists in our business environment,” JKUATES managing director, Winifred Karugu, says.

Specific

This stems from the fact that majority of SMEs are started and run either by professionals in fields with no business backgrounds like Mr Kassim or where they have training it is limited to a specific field in business.

“In the day-to-day running of my business, I have to juggle between areas I am least qualified such as human resource and financial planning, while my competence is civil engineering,” says Mr Kassim.

“This is why we felt we needed a programme looking into the establishment and running of businesses right from the oversight and daily management to strategic and tactical management,” says Zetech College chairman, Kenneth Mbiuki.

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Varsity-college linkages expand higher education

By Harold Ayodo Published on 14/10/2009 The Standard

Many students who fail to join public universities are getting a second chance to enrol for degree programmes thanks to linkages between institutions of higher learning.

Partnerships between public universities and private colleges are giving students alternative paths to higher education.

Although the minimum entry grade to public universities is a C+ in KCSE, the Joint Admission’s Board cut-off grade of B locks out many students who qualify.

The partnerships allow college to enrol students with C+ in KCSE or those with lower grades but have
Keriri Woman’s University of Science and Technology, situated in Kahawa, Nairobi, has only two blocks that resemble residential houses, which serve 300 students.

certificate and diplomas in degree programmes.
Keriri Woman’s University of Science and Technology, situated in Kahawa, Nairobi, has only two blocks that resemble residential houses, which serve 300 students.

For instance, a student who scores a C- in KCSE can enrol for a degree course after completing certificate and diploma courses in the relevant area.

One such student is Rosemary Mideva who scored a C+ in KCSE. Determined to get a Masters of Business Administration, she is taking a diploma in business administration at Zetech College.

"The six month course will enable me qualify for a degree course," she says.

Zetech collaborates with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to offer degrees courses.

Another student, Kevin Nyota who scored a C+ is pursuing a diploma in Information Communication Technology.

"I want to be a mechanical engineer so I will enrol for a degree after I complete the diploma," he says.

Zetech Managing Director Peter Njoroge says enrolment at the college that has three intakes increased by 70 per cent it partnered with JKUAT.

Student admission

Degree courses offered at the college in collaboration with JKUAT include Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Mass Communication while diploma programmes include business administration, purchasing and supplies management, public relations and advertising, micro finance and Information technology.

JKUAT processes admission of students, prepare the curricular, vets the teaching staff and marks examinations. "Supervision by the university is rigorous to ensure quality," Njoroge says.

JKUAT has two quality assurance officials who visit the three Zetech colleges unannounced.

Before the agreement was signed, the university reviewed the CVs of the college’s teaching staff.

"We (Zetech) have to be on our toes as the Government because the government has become strict about standards," he says.

Njoroge says the college has applied to the CHE to allow it offer more degree programmes. "We presented our documents for validation," he says.

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