Students embark on entrepreneurial action project in Kenya

Two business students from Plymouth University are preparing to embark on a six-week project to encourage entrepreneurship within a Kenyan community.

Luke Mallard and James Holden have been selected to take part in the Balloon Kenya initiative, which brings exceptional young individuals from around the world together to work with budding local business people.

They leave the UK on Saturday (10 August) for Nakuru, just outside of Nairobi, and will contribute to a wider international team of young people who will think up, test and refine business ideas within the community to tackle local social problems. They will then act as mentors to locals and will offer advice and help to teach people the skills needed for spotting business opportunities.

At the end of the six weeks, Balloon Kenya will make a financial investment to three of the most viable enterprises.

Luke, who is studying Business Studies and is currently on placement as an adviser within the University’s Talent Hub, said: “Being a part of the Balloon Kenya programme is a unique opportunity to learn and hone entrepreneurial practises and techniques before testing them in real life situations with other budding entrepreneurs and innovators. The chance of a life-changing experience that will help develop the economic outlook of Nakuru, and also challenge and inspire me, is too good to miss.”

Balloon Kenya is a social enterprise that works to defeat poverty through entrepreneurship. Luke and James both had to apply to be part of the project and were interviewed before being selected.

James, who is studying Business Enterprise and is also on placement at the University working to promote and encourage student entrepreneurship, said: “With 1.2 billion people on this planet surviving on around $1 a day, global poverty is a major issue which needs to be tackled. One solution, which often goes unmentioned, is entrepreneurship. The benefits of entrepreneurship in communities are plentiful; and with less poverty, more jobs, and greater growth, we all benefit.”

Robert Newbery, associate professor in entrepreneurship and development at the University, has been working extensively with the East African community to support entrepreneurial education.

He added: “We hope these interns will become evangelical supporters of our efforts to support entrepreneurial education in East Africa. We also hope to spread the message that entrepreneurship is something that can and should benefit wider society, not just the individual. In this case, the students are helping deliver entrepreneurial education to groups with a goal of poverty alleviation.”

Luke and James will be posting updates of their project on social media and on this blogging site: http://startup-kenya.blogspot.co.uk/