NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18 – More than 50 Kenyan entrepreneurs have graduated from the inaugural cohort of the Enwealth Foundation SEED Programme, following a 12-week business education programme focused on leadership, governance and financial discipline.
The programme, which was held in Nairobi, is designed to address capability gaps among small and medium enterprises, alongside challenges related to access to finance.
Participants underwent training in business planning and enterprise growth strategy, financial literacy and wealth stewardship, risk management, human resource practices, sales and distribution, and public procurement.
The programme also covered regulatory compliance and licensing, digital tools and basic cybersecurity awareness.
The Enwealth Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Enwealth Financial Services Limited, established the programme under its economic empowerment portfolio.
Simon Wafubwa, Founder and CEO of Enwealth Financial Services, said the programme was designed to strengthen entrepreneurs’ ability to build sustainable businesses.
“Capital without capability tends to produce the same outcome we have seen for years, businesses that start with promise and stall within a few years. We chose to invest in the entrepreneur first: in their planning discipline, their governance, their leadership,” Wafubwa said.
Graduating entrepreneur John Gitahi said the programme helped him improve financial discipline, planning and decision-making in his business.
“I came in with a business that was surviving month to month. What changed was not just what I learned but how I now think about running it, the financial discipline, the planning, the confidence to make decisions I used to avoid. I am leaving with a plan I actually trust,” Gitahi said.
Programme facilitator Eva Muraya said leadership and governance were important in determining whether small businesses could grow sustainably.
“Most entrepreneurs we meet are capable operators. What is often missing is the leadership and governance layer, how they make decisions under pressure, manage people, and build structures that can outlast them. That is what separates a business from a livelihood,” Muraya said.
She added that branding was also influenced by internal business operations, including people, cash flow, operational efficiency, pricing, inventory, product packaging, accessibility, leadership and governance.
The inaugural cohort is the first cycle of the SEED Programme, which the Enwealth Foundation plans to run repeatedly.
