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| Country Manager of ABE, Boniface Kamau |
The Association of Business Executives (ABE) is set to roll out entrepreneurship programmes in high schools across Mombasa County to enhance business studies in the curriculum.
The programme is an initiative by ABE Global, which is a skills development organisation in areas of entrepreneurship, innovation, and business management and will equip students with business development skills to nurture ideas from inception to implementation.
An exhibition held at the Jaffery College during the first ABE Clubs annual conference saw students from various private schools across the county get a chance to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and exhibit their business ideas.
The Country Manager of ABE, Boniface Kamau, said that the organisation seeks to partner with the county government to ensure that the entrepreneurship programme is rolled out not only in private schools but is also incorporated in public schools.
“We want to follow all the official procedures to ensure that public schools also benefit from this programme; hence, as ABE, this is the best time to partner with the county government to elevate the education status to a higher level,” said Kamau.
He noted in addition that ABE has piloted the programme in three schools in Mombasa County and seven schools in Nairobi County.
Director, ABE Global, Sub-Saharan Africa, Kereesa Carrington, reiterated that the programme has enrolled over 6,000 students across Sub-Saharan Africa, with at least 500 from Mombasa County.
“We have had numerous schools represented today, and they have pitched their ideas on business and entrepreneurship through excellent presentations. This programme has been engaging the youth as it relates to not just starting businesses but converting business ideas into viable sustainable businesses,” said Carrington.
Apart from Secondary Schools, Carrington noted that the organisation also focuses on other institutions, including banks and universities, as well as offering internship programs to college graduates.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education, Mombasa County, Mbwarali Kame, indicated that the county government will expand mentorship programmes in public schools, especially with the introduction of such programmes that will augment the already existing ones.
“My department of education has been doing mentorship programmes for all public secondary schools in Mombasa, and we want to assure you that we are going to expand it and make it even better with such great ideas of entrepreneurship brought by ABE,” Mbwarali said.
Among the schools that participated in the conference were Jaffery College, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Secondary School, Aga Khan High School, and Memon School.
The winners were Sheikh Khalifa, Aga Khan High School, and Jaffery College respectively, with each bagging awards and gift vouchers.
By Andrew Hinga