07/09/2026
We Don’t Have an Entrepreneurship Problem. We Have an Ecosystem Problem.
We Kenyans love entrepreneurship.
Tell someone you’ve started a business and the first question is usually:
“So, how much are you making?” 😂
Sometimes the business is three days old.
But we already want the profit margins.
The truth is, Kenya does not have a shortage of entrepreneurs.
Walk through any town, market, campus or neighbourhood and you'll find someone building something.
Someone selling clothes on Instagram.
Someone making furniture.
Someone farming.
Someone running a small shop.
Someone building an app.
Someone turning a skill they learnt into a business.
The entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive.
So why do so many businesses struggle to survive and scale?
Maybe the problem isn't the entrepreneur.
Maybe it's everything around the entrepreneur.
We are quite good at telling people:
“Start a business.”
Then we train them for three days, give them a certificate, take a group photo and wish them all the best. 😂
But entrepreneurship doesn't work like that.
After the training, the entrepreneur still needs customers.
They need access to finance.
They need digital tools.
They need markets.
They need mentorship.
They need networks.
They need someone to help them understand things they have never dealt with before.
And sometimes, they simply need someone to say:
“I know someone who can help you.”
That is where an ecosystem comes in.
A good ecosystem connects the dots.
Skills connect to opportunities.
Ideas connect to markets.
Businesses connect to finance.
Entrepreneurs connect to each other.
Innovation connects to real problems.
And support doesn't stop when the training ends.
This is something I have increasingly appreciated through the work we do with entrepreneurs, MSMEs, young people and ecosystem partners.
We don't necessarily need to create more entrepreneurs.
We need to make it easier for the entrepreneurs we already have to succeed.
Because imagine what happens when a young person with a good idea has the skills, the right network, access to finance, technology, mentorship and a market.
Suddenly, that idea has a fighting chance.
And perhaps that is the conversation we need to have more often.
Not just:
“How many people did we train?”
But:
“How many businesses are still standing a year later?”
Not just:
“How many startups did we incubate?”
But:
“How many actually found customers?”
Not just:
“How many entrepreneurs attended the programme?”
But:
“What changed for them afterwards?”
Because ecosystems don't happen by accident.
They are built.
They are connected.
They are nurtured.
And most importantly, they have to work for the entrepreneur.
Maybe we don't have an entrepreneurship problem after all.
Maybe we just need to build a much better table and make sure the entrepreneur has a seat at it.
That's the ecosystem conversation I'm interested in.
