Case Studies written by SU staff launched

Dr Kiraka hands over the Case Studies report to PS David Nalo

"The 1.6 million registered Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) account for 96 per cent of all business enterprises in the country. And they employ about 5.1million people accounting for 75 per cent of the total labour force and contribute 20 per cent to Kenya's GDP," says Mr David Nalo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Mr Nalo said this during the launching of 45 business case studies on the MSME sector at a Nairobi hotel earlier in the year. He said that although the situation had changed significantly since last year and many businesses had been destroyed and business people displaced, the government was committed to reviving the MSME sector owing to its importance to Kenya's economic development.

The need for capacity building and access to resources is great and the Ministry of Trade and Industry will be assessing the losses suffered by businesses with a view to providing viable solutions. He challenged universities to invest in building the capacity of MSMEs, not just in training, but also offering other business development services.

Speaking at the event, Dr Ruth Kiraka, the case studies project coordinator for Strathmore University noted that there are three main challenges facing MSMEs. These are poor financial management, lack of or inadequate marketing and low human capacity. Many MSME owner-managers were not able to employ qualified people, motivate and retain them.

On the other hand, having a good understanding of a business venture, strong leadership and a shared vision with the workforce contributed significantly to success in business.

The case study development project is part of a larger Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Competitiveness Project funded by the World Bank. The overall aim of the project is to support the development of the private sector, generate wealth and alleviate poverty in Kenya through public and private sector partnerships.

The objective of five-year project is to increase growth and competitiveness of MSMEs in Kenya. This is primarily being achieved through the following three overarching components: Access to finance, strengthening enterprise skills and market linkages, and improving the business environment.

The case study project falls under the second component of strengthening enterprise skills and more specifically under the sub-component Global Business Schools Network (GBSN). The GBSN sub-component aims at strengthening business education in business schools. It focuses on deepening the pool of competent local managers by helping the local business schools enhance their capabilities. The GBSN brings together top global schools (including Harvard, IESE Business School, Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Lagos Business School), and local business schools. The GBSN partner schools in Kenya are Strathmore University, Kenyatta University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Through the sub-component, the three universities have been able to develop over 100 cases. Strathmore University has developed 36 of these cases that are being incorporated in the curriculum at undergraduate, postgraduate and MSME training programs. Some of the cases are also available at the European Case Clearing House (ECCH) making them available for use by leading business schools in the world.

The SU case studies will be available on the University's Intranet for access to all staff. Case abstracts will also be posted on the Internet at www.strathmore.edu/gbsn. Micro enterprises are rated as firms employing 1 to 10 employees; small enterprises are classified as firms employing 11 to 50 employees; while Medium enterprises are classified as those employing 51 to 100 employees.