Nairobi, Kenya – Education stakeholders in Kenya have emphasized the importance of entrepreneurial training for students, aligning with the government’s vision of nurturing job creators rather than job seekers. This initiative aims to address the youth unemployment challenge in the country. A workshop was convened with representatives from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and other sector players to discuss the integration of the Wavumbuzi educational concept and entrepreneurship skills for high school learners.
According to Kenya News Agency, this workshop is a precursor to a larger session planned for key stakeholders in the Kenyan education sector. The goal is to institutionalize the Wavumbuzi program in secondary and high schools starting from the 2024 academic year. The workshop, named ‘Substantive Ecosystem Contribution through Capacity Enhancement of Quest Development’, focused on brainstorming and in-depth discussions on the upcoming thematic areas within the Wavumbuzi Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Dr. Roselyn Marandu-Kareithi, Wavumbuzi’s Kenya Country Lead, highlighted the workshop as a crucial moment in redefining entrepreneurial education for learners. She envisioned a future where African youth and communities understand the value of entrepreneurship, seeing it as a viable alternative to traditional employment. The Wavumbuzi initiative, she explained, is designed to foster this mindset and skill set among young people.
The workshop brought together a diverse group of experts, whose insights are expected to drive the Wavumbuzi mission forward. Dr. Kareithi elaborated on the concept of ‘Quests’, thematic areas in emerging fields, embedded with various entrepreneurial competencies to stimulate learners’ thinking about opportunities in these areas.
The Wavumbuzi Entrepreneurship Challenge has recently seen a surge in participation, with the latest edition involving 973 schools, a significant increase from the previous 254. Over 20,300 learners registered for the Challenge, with submissions soaring to 531,000 from 113,000 in the earlier edition. Notably, for the first time, learners from grade seven in Junior Secondary School also participated, including more differently-abled learners, following authorization from the Ministry of Education to roll out the Challenge nationally.
Njoki Riguga, the Wavumbuzi Program Manager, explained that the program aims to recognize and celebrate the achievements of secondary/high school learners, teachers, schools, and counties. Since its inception, Wavumbuzi has expanded to include Wavumbuzi Clubs in schools and mentoring for top learners, in addition to the well-known Entrepreneurship Challenge.
The Challenge is a free, annual six-week online program that focuses on developing entrepreneurial mindsets among learners. Through a series of challenges and activities, students engage with community issues, think critically, and propose solutions. Riguga shared that the upcoming year will feature a service learning activity for learners to solve a community problem in the first term, followed by the next edition of the online Challenge in the second term, open to all secondary/high schools in Kenya.
The goal of Wavumbuzi is to build the entrepreneurial aspirations of 1,000,000 young people in Eastern Africa by 2030. It is part of the Jasiri High-Impact Entrepreneurship Program. Riguga recommended other schools to participate in the program, as it complements the curriculum and supports the government’s initiative to encourage entrepreneurship.
The workshop provided a comprehensive overview of the Wavumbuzi Club structure and objectives, the integration of real-world challenges into the learning process, and a detailed roadmap for the program’s future. The next phase of Wavumbuzi includes the establishment of Clubs, where learners will engage in a Community Service Learning Activity and the upcoming fifth edition of the Challenge.