18 Kenyans among African business leaders feted by Stanford University

Forty business leaders from across East, Central and Southern Africa were on Friday awarded certificates of completion by the Stanford Graduate School of Business after finishing a 10-month rigorous management program under the Stanford Seed Transformation Program.

The cohort comprises 18 Kenyans and others drawn from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Madagascar and other countries in the region.

Some of the businesses that were recognized for outstanding growth included RFH Healthcare, Unity Homes, Danco Capital and Scanlab Nakuru.

The keynote speaker at the Friday night awards and gala ceremony was James Mwangi, the CEO of Equity Bank.

Dr Mwangi advised the entrepreneurs in attendance to do a few things well rather than always trying to do the latest thing.

He also talked about the importance of having a strong brand and described Equity Bank’s brand as a significant driver of its success.

“A strong business model fueled by a strong brand will deliver phenomenal business growth,” the Equity CEO said.

On his part, Stanford Seed Regional Director, Frank Waruingi described the event as an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the entrepreneurs and businesses within the program’s alumni network throughout the year.

Launched in 2013, the Stanford Seed Transformation Program has helped Kenyan CEOs and Founders scale to new products, customers and global markets.

Stanford Seed says to date, the program has seen 29,901 direct jobs created, 110,600 indirect jobs created, over $1 billion capital raised and $923 million in revenue added to local economies including Kenya.

The program says it has a 16.6% average compound annual revenue growth rate and a 19.7% average annual jobs growth rate across markets.