Ms Fredah Mwiti (left) receives her certificate from Roger Steadman (right) as Mr George Njenga (middle) looks on.

20 graduates were presented with certificates at the ceremony. The programme is run by Steadman in collaboration with Strathmore Business School (SBS). “We will run two more programmes this year and we have plans to begin a diploma next year,” said Vivien Marles, Training and Strategy Director at The Steadman Group.

Dr Joseph Sevilla, SU's Vice-Chancellor (Research & Quality Assurance) said the university recognized the importance of research and is availing resources for its lecturers to do research. He said SU is focused on doing research that is of immediate application. Two of the graduates, Miss Fredah Mwiti and Mrs Stella Nyongesa are SU lecturers.

Giving the keynote address, Mrs Rosemary Okello, the Executive Director of the African Woman and Child Feature Service said applied research is useful in policy formulation. She said there is need for researchers in Africa to form a network which can then be a point of reference for information on Africa.

Roger Steadman, founder and chairman of Steadman Group said Steadman Group's vision is to be the first choice source of information in Africa. He said the programme aims to train a cadre of professionals who can foster excellence in market intelligence and demystify research.

Roger said that research in Africa is inhibited by a lack of awareness and appreciation. "Policy is still informed by intuition. Gut feeling has its place but research is essential for decision-making. Without research, the pace of economic development will be slow," he observed.

He added that research theory needs to be put into practice in Africa so that it can be localized and thus be relevant to the African situation.

He said when he and seven others started the group in 1970s, to monitor advertisements on Voice of Kenya (VoK) now Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), sceptics said VoK would not listen to them.

"But VoK was delighted when we presented factual information to them in an appropriate way. People will do things the right way if facts are presented to them appropriately," said the former Marketing Director of Unilever Kenya.

"Our monitoring revealed that not only did VoK air blurred and badly cut adverts but it didn't run some adverts. The error rate was about 30%. After we presented data to VoK, advertisers started getting more effective service," Roger said.

"Steadman has also won its clients' hearts because it upholds integrity. When the East Africa community was re-launched, we were invited to Uganda by the media, and we are now in Ghana and Zambia. Another hallmark of Steadman is culture. Our culture of doing routine back ups saved the Group when fire gutted a section of our offices," Roger revealed.

George Njenga, the Director of SBS said there is need for African professionals to believe in themselves. "There is a lack of self-believe in our students. They should realize they are well-trained and can outdo the best in the world. During a recent visit to Washington DC, I found Kenyans who were at the helm of their organizations and some of them are alumni of Strathmore," George said.