Do universities stand at the nexus of research and innovation?
Yes, they do. Not only do these institutions draw curious minds, but they also offer a platform for fostering entrepreneurial skills and innovation. However, they also face the challenge of connecting students with employment opportunities in a job market that can be quite limited, both formally and informally.
Consider these staggering numbers: every year, around 10–12 million young Africans enter the job market, but there are only 3 million formal job positions available as per recent data. Additionally, the International Labor Organization reported that in 2020, youth unemployment rates in Africa were at 10.7%, higher than the global average of 13.6%.
To bridge this gap, university-industry partnerships have emerged as crucial connectors, with statistics from 2022 revealing that 46.8% of universities globally have established links with industries. This symbiotic relationship helps transform academic research into tangible products and services for the market.
Moreover, the rise of university-based incubators (UBIs) has been remarkable. Globally, there are now 150 university-based incubators; our business incubator, @iBizAfrica Innovation and Incubation Centre, is one of them and boasts over 12 years of experience in nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial skills.
In 2012, when the incubator began, students were some of our earliest incubatees. Fast forward to today, and some of our startups have become the founders of successful startup solutions in Kenya and Africa, including names such as PurpInk, Eliteways Travel, SophieBot, MLedger, and Aurora Health Care. These startups have benefited from partnerships with organizations, leading to over USD 250,000 in funding across various sectors such as agritech, fintech, and edutech, with our business incubation center scaling over 800 startups through training, coaching, and mentorship.
What makes university-based incubators potent for innovation? They provide benefits such as nurturing research and development, involving students in real-world challenges, fostering collaboration among students, researchers, and industry professionals, and granting access to valuable resources like labs and expert faculty. Additionally, they serve as fertile grounds for students to incubate ideas, receive mentorship, access resources, and transform concepts into successful ventures. Their impact on fostering entrepreneurial skills and venture creation for innovation is indisputable.
In October, @iBizAfrica shared its insights at the Education Collaborative East Africa Convening in Kampala, joining higher education leaders, educators, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, regulators, policymakers, and government representatives from the East African region. The two-day event, “Accelerating Entrepreneurship and Graduate Employability for Regional Development,” aimed to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing and inspire innovative approaches within East African higher education.
One of the most engaging sessions revolved around the establishment of incubators within higher education institutions (HEIs). This discussion, facilitated by @iBizAfrica Incubation Manager, Ms. Ludovica Ochieng, delved into the technical, infrastructural, and financial complexities involved in setting up incubators on campus.
These were some key takeaways from her presentation on setting up incubators in HEIs:
- The success factors of setting up incubators in HEIs include university leadership support, internal expertise from university faculty and staff, the student community that generates a good pipeline of incubatees, and strong industry relationships, among others.
- To ensure incubator sustainability, HEIs must consistently enhance incubation processes, refine objectives and strategies for quality outcomes, adapt to innovation ecosystem trends, and encourage a blend of public and private funding sources, as well as a revenue-sharing model with investible startups.
The event emphasized the significance of commercializing university-based research output to drive innovation in East Africa. With the African continent contributing only 2% to global research output and allocating 1.3% of funding to research initiatives, increased investments are essential. Kenya’s Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) stands at 0.81%, equivalent to USD 2.06 billion, highlighting the urgent need for heightened investment. Despite effective knowledge transfer practices and strong intellectual property protection, the absence of patenting poses challenges to commercialization.
Preparing students for success requires collaboration with diverse stakeholders. HEIs alone cannot achieve this task; collaboration with various innovation stakeholders, including industry professionals, entrepreneurs, regulators, policymakers, and government representatives, is essential. Looking ahead, @iBizAfrica’s commitment to partnering with HEIs and sharing knowledge and experiences remains a key goal as they strive for a robust ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship within the education sector. @iBizAfrica is dedicated to collaborating with HEIs and sharing knowledge and experiences in this endeavor.
By Michelle Njeri.