The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and its supports in Nairobi - in Nairobi - A Qualitative study of their relationships

Abstract: Background Kenya is facing social and economic problems related to the high unemployment rate the country has suffered since independence. The Kenyan government are placing a lot, if not all, eggs in one basket and betting on entrepreneurship to solve these problem. For entrepreneurship to thrive there needs to be an ecosystem facilitating it and inherent in this ecosystem are support organisations. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to explore the domains of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nairobi and to find out how it effects or how it is being effected by the startup support organisations in the area. By highlighting these interconnections, actors may take appropriate steps in further facilitating the establishment and growth of ventures on the scene in Nairobi. Delimitations First and foremost, the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in this thesis is limited geographically to Nairobi and the barriers of the ecosystem are discussed in the theoretical framework. Interviewees are limited to management or higher ranking employees of the startup support organisations, their closest associates and startups. Method This thesis is based on qualitative interviews with people active on the startup scene. The results of the interviews will be complemented by a literature review and analysed using a theoretical framework. Conclusions The ICT-sector enjoys a far more developed ecosystem than the rest of the sectors. This points to the fact that the ecosystem started to gain foothold in ICT and has expanded to include other sectors which now are evolving. But some generalities were found that applies to all sectors, that there are three more critical domains. Those are; Finance Human capital Policy These connections were found between the ecosystem and the support organisations. The EE’s effect on the SSOs: Policy – Existing governmental policies limits the SSOs opportunities to markets in Kenya and to the world outside. Finance – When the SSO loose financing they tend to move their value proposition further away from the young startups which need the SSOs services the most. Culture – The culture creates a demand for SSOs and enables their business. Human Capital – The existing knowledge is poor which gives the SSOs a hole to fill and is definitely altering The SSO’s effect on the EE: Policy – The SSO has today little or no ability to affect governmental policy making. Finance – The SSOs has as an intermediary opportunity to reduce the gap between startups and investors but has yet not succeeded. Culture – The SSOs empower entrepreneurs and are making entrepreneurship socially accepted towards markets and the society at large. Human Capital – SSOs can further educate entrepreneurs and are making the EE more customer centric. Markets – Through networking SSOs can facilitate early adopters and let entrepreneurs reach global market through international companies established in Nairobi.