Leeds University Business School and partners celebrate the culmination of the Africa Science Entrepreneurship Programme.
Leeds University Business School and partners celebrate The Africa Science Entrepreneurship Programme’s culmination and legacy across Africa.
The last session of the Africa Science Entrepreneurship Programme (ASEP) was delivered earlier this month. Funded by the British Council through the International Science Partnerships Fund this ten month long initiative was run by the Leeds University Business School in partnership with the National Research Foundation, IBM Research Africa, South Africa Radio Astronomy Observatory and Empire Partner Foundation.
Co-designed by Dr Jane Khayesi and Tone Thomas Vaduthala, the ASEP set out to support early stage entrepreneurs across Africa to design and develop sustainable solutions that addressed opportunities and challenges unique to the region.
Delivering the keynote, Senior Director of Executive Programmes, Tone Thomas Vaduthala, said:
This initiative is more than a training programme - it is a movement that empowers Africa based innovators to become entrepreneurs, leaders, and change makers; consequently building a continent-wide innovation ecosystem. ASEP does not just drive a technological shift – it drives a psychological one, building confidence, ownership, and pride in African ingenuity.
The entrepreneurs attending the ASEP programme presented solutions that addressed challenges unique to Africa focussing on aspects such as agriculture, climate change, healthcare, energy and environmental resilience. The ASEP, through tailored workshops and mentoring by industry experts, aimed to further support these entrepreneurs in actualising their ideas.
Reflecting on the journey, Dr. Khayesi (Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship; and, Director of the MSc in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programme), said:
As the Academic Director of the ASEP, I am honoured to have been part of the various entrepreneurial journeys. These innovative solutions will go a long way in resolving Africa's grand challenges.
Dr. Khayesi’s research expertise includes sustainable development, social capital, entrepreneurship in emerging economies - including the informal sector -and rural electrification. She leveraged this deep contextual understanding to further guide the entrepreneurs and encourage them to consider various lenses when reviewing their ideas.
We look forward to following the journey of these entrepreneurs and the impact that their ideas will have on the continent in the years to come.
