By Martha Murage

On April 9, the IT Innovation and Entrepreneurship students, attended a guest lecture on tech entrepreneurship delivered by an industry expert. Organized by their lecture Ms. Ann Maina, the session aimed at reshaping their understanding of tech entrepreneurship by providing the students with practical wisdom from someone who had successfully navigated the journey from technical expert to business leader.

While welcoming the guest, Ms. Ann challenged the students to step into the shoes of an entrepreneur applying what they have learnt in real time. “Today, each of you has developed a compelling business proposal for a venture you aspire to launch. This final step gives you the opportunity to transform those bold ideas to real-world application, inspiring you to think even bigger,” she said. She further urged them to rise as entrepreneurs and innovators and rewrite the rules of what is possible noting that the insight from the guest lecture might be the spark that fuels them for their next big leap.

As a Chief Executive Officer, business strategist and Co-founder of LoyalB Engineering Services Ltd, Mr. Njoroge Kinyanjui, the guest speaker, brought along a wealth of expertise. With more than a decade of experience as a strategist and mentor, advised governments around Africa while working at Microsoft and helped more than 40 businesses, Mr. Njoroge posses the unique qualifications to guide the students at this critical stage of their careers.

Kinyanjui began by outlining the essential characteristics of successful entrepreneurs where he argued the need for visionary thinking which should be paired with calculated risk taking. He further highlighted adaptability as a crucial survival skill and urged them to breakdown complex problems into small solvable chunks. More than that, he stressed on the importance of building and maintaining genuine business relationships as word of mouth marketing outweigh expensive advertising campaigns.

"Successful entrepreneurs are athletes I appreciate," remarked Kinyajui, drawing strong analogies between the discipline required in sports and business. He discussed the brain drain challenge where professionals leave for greener pastures outside the country. He also explored the challenges of running a digital business citing several obstacles such as securing funding and dealing with regulations.

Kinyanjui reiterated the importance of protecting intellectual property especially in the face of the fierce market competition and limited support system. He urged the students to only disclose what is necessary. Furthermore, he advocated for prudent money management stating that sustained success revolves around financial discipline. Analyzing how tech billionaires like Larry Ellison and Jeff Bezos built sustainable systems, making their money work for them, he told the students to maintain separate accounts, automate savings, and understand cash flow dynamics. His message was clear, technical innovation must be paired with financial wisdom to drive growth and lasting impact.

As the discussion geared to an end, they discussed how to turn ideas into successful enterprise with the guest speaker cautioning them against skipping market research and feasibility studies steps. "Curate proposals that speak directly to your target audience with clear, data-backed claims," he instructed, warning against generic pitches. He conclude by stressing on the need for self-belief as one has to trust in their own expertise first before he/she can earn trust from other people.

This transformative session served as proof of university’s commitment to producing graduates who combine technical excellence with business acumen.