Promotion of Quality Entrepreneurial Training in Eastern Africa

Kenya, Uganda

The project aimed to improve employment prospects for the youth and promoting entrepreneurship and business creation in Eastern Africa. Its immediate objectives are to strengthen the capacity of existing vocational training centres with whom ICEP is already cooperating in Kenya and Uganda, and help these centres improve the quality and increase the relevance of their programs, including technical and entrepreneurial skills. The Project is expected to directly benefit nine vocational training centres and their staff, including around 116 teachers and trainers, as well as 4,200 underprivileged youths and 2,700 small entrepreneurs that will be trained in these centres over the project lifespan. In 2019 the partners continued to improve training structures and methodologies. The Kenyan and Ugandan Vocational Training Centres founded initiatives to spread the idea of fostering technical training in general and dual training in particular in support of networking with important stakeholders from both the public and the private sector. VTIs have fostered work-based training and the establishment of entrepreneurial support structures and continue to close the gap between what is being taught in those centres and what is demanded on the labour-market. The fact that East African countries still do not have education and training structures that adequately prepare the majority of the poor for labour markets severely limits potential economic development. The second supporting pillar of the project is entrepreneurial training to make self-employment a viable option for career development and job creation. Positive experiences and results are being brought to a systemic level. ICEP has been working to professionalize ISBI as a training institution specifically for small and medium entrepreneurs since 2014. ISBI is now well established. After 5 years with support from an expat, the management of ISBI was handed over to a Kenyan national. ISBI is now in a strong position to deepening its training contents and expanding its client base to meet demand from microenterprises and initiatives to promote private sector development. ICEP has initiated a cross-border know-how transfer to Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania through several fact-finding missions and working trips. This cooperation was particularly well received in Kenya and has been able to provide an important impetus in entrepreneurship education in the country. The approach is very much in line with the overall country strategy, noting that the Kenyan government seeks to increase support to SMEs, in particular capacity building, in regions outside of the capital of Nairobi. The vocational skills training reached about 5.600 youths above the targeted 4.200. The number of trained VTIs staff surpassed the targeted 116 trainer and reach 128. All partners managed to take entrepreneurial trainings for small and micro entrepreneurs online and facilities proved to be a feasible training channel for the future. However, only about 2.400 small and micro-entrepreneurs were reached compared to 2.700 milestone. ISBI has been very quick and effective in developing new methodologies to reach and approach entrepreneurs, as they implemented distance learning strategies and online courses, showed a great deal of creativity and circumspection in managing the many challenges and set the right activities to handle the difficult situation. ISBI also further professionalized entrepreneurial training for small and medium entrepreneurs, continued to improve curricula to ensure up-to-date training and to deepen its training contents. ICEP has already initiated a know-how transfer to Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania through several fact-finding missions and working trips.