Kenya - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to equip Kenyan engineering graduates with relevant skills to ease their entry into the job market. Engineering is diversified and most finish their undergraduate program without a clue on which field to major in.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to equip Kenyan engineering graduates with relevant skills to ease their entry into the job market by offering introductory training into areas of specialization of their choice by industry professionals as well as offering mentorship and guidance on which specialization to choose. I chose to go into this because of the unfairness experienced in the job market at entry level for engineering graduates. With engineering courses in university taking up the most brilliant of minds after secondary education; this is alarming and might negate the intake numbers of engineering students. This at a crucial time when the president is fully pushing and encouraging intake of STEM courses. BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to level the playing field and fill the gap for graduates to have the necessary skills and direction as they set out into the job market to have a higher chance of negotiating a better entry level salary thus boosting morale and building a robust mental health.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

There has been a decline of students taking up engineering courses after completing secondary education mainly due to the humiliation and troubles engineering graduates endure early on in their career. BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to level the playing field and fill the gap for graduates to have the necessary skills and direction as they set out into the job market to have a higher chance of negotiating a better entry level salary thus alleviating poverty. This is not only good for morale boosting but also helps in maintaining a robust mental health and well being. In university students are not offered proper mentorship and guidance on how to maneuver the job market upon completion of studies. In fact the recommendations from the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) report observed that with the expansion of university education, the schools offer similar courses and academic programs but lack SPECIALISATION. BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to offer guidance and mentorship.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to shore up the intake of students into engineering courses to ensure the country achieves vision 2030 through alleviation of poverty by better pay for engineering graduates, offering quality education by polishing and guiding graduates to become more self aware thus churning out confident engineers into the job market. BORESHA UHANDISI also seeks to boost mental health which currently is on a downturn by the poor compensation, lack of opportunities and mentorship experienced by engineering graduates. This program gives them a shot at obtaining decent work that helps them grow both in their career and economically. BORESHA UHANDISI also targets to reduce inequality. Engineering takes the brightest of minds after the secondary school examinations, same as those in the medical field. Unlike graduates in the medical field who earn a substantial amount of money at internship level, an amount that some in the engineering field take years to earn.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

BORESHA UHANDISI helps a section of graduates with mental health issues who are battling with the fear of failure despite scoring exemplary grades throughout their academic journey. This due to poor entry level pay, lack of mentorship and guidance on which career path to pursue and lack of opportunities due to being under equipped to transform the work place. BORESHA UHANDISI targets engineering graduates and takes them through an introductory training and mentorship on areas of specialization of their choice. This helps them and gets them better prepared for the job market in order to solve problems and be assets in their jobs. BORESHA UHANDISI also helps the employers by giving them ready graduates who are prepared for roles in their areas of specialization. This reduces the amount of time and money employers spend in order to train the graduates to be able to handle roles in the market place hence shoring up the recruitment numbers post graduation into the work place.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2024-05-01

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

1

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

1

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

Joy Hope is an experienced bachelor of commerce (finance) graduate who is intended to manage the finances and take lead on business development together with social media having had experience in these roles in her career. She is sharp, witty and knows her numbers ensuring every single coin goes to the intended purpose.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

Other: Education

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

BORESHA UHANDISI equips engineering graduates with strong marketable skills in their areas of specialization thus giving them leverage in negotiating for a higher entry level salary based on value addition they can contribute in the work place. This alleviates poverty among engineering graduates from the onset.

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

3

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to churn out well guided and properly trained engineering graduates in their area of specialization into the job market thus enabling them negotiate for better entry level salaries. This not only boosts morale but also establishes a robust mental health and well being.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

BORESHA UHANDISI polishes university graduates by emphasizing on specialization through mentorship, training and guidance by industry professionals. This ensures that proper skills and knowledge is cultivated early on in their careers.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

3

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

3

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

3

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

A properly trained and guided graduate exuberates confidence and is able to take up complicated roles in the work place at an early stage. This enables them to apply for competitive jobs in decent companies with a decent working environment and good pay. BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to guide the graduates through their journey and set them up to their dream careers. Eventually when we establish the dream of BORESHA UHANDISI being a college that undergraduates attend to polish on their degrees and choose a specialization, we intend on creating a decent work place that is free of stigma and compensates employees well.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

3

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

BORESHA UHANDISI also targets to reduce inequality. Engineering takes the brightest of minds after the secondary school examinations whereby the mean grade required is an A plain, same as those in the medical field. Unlike graduates in the medical field who earn a substantial amount of money at internship level, an amount that some in the engineering field take years to earn.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

3

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

3

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

3

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

3

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

3

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

4

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

3

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

2

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

2

05.08 Justification

The whole idea behind BORESHA UHANDISI is to one day become a college that all engineering graduates have to attend to pick upon a course and specialize. Same way The Kenya School of Law is for lawyers, we envision BORESHA UHANDISI to have the same impact. This concept has never been done for engineering graduates and is therefore a new concept. Giving graduates a sense of direction on where to specialize and offering mentorship and training to ease their entry into the job market. Therefore, BORESHA UHANDISI seeks to improve upon the engineering course taught in university by polishing on a specialization picked by the graduate upon guidance and mentorship on known strengths and interests.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

This is an entirely new concept and there is therefore no competition whatsoever. It only seeks to enhance sections of specialization on the engineering graduate course.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

no