ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The American University in Cairo (AUC) has embarked on an ambitious journey to develop a campus-wide entrepreneurial ecosystem, in many ways led by its School of Business, to help nurture and grow tech-enabled start-ups that offer creative solutions intelligently catering to the needs of society. AUC’s Sherif Kamel and Howard Thomas from Singapore Management University provide the details B uilding a campus-wide entrepreneurial ecosystem requires an all-inclusive, collaborative space where different stakeholders, both on and off campus, are aligned and engaged to inform the decision-making process. The objective is to create an effective, student‑centred learning environment, adaptive pedagogical approaches and an interdisciplinary curriculum with a focus on capacity-building in key areas such as critical thinking, creativity, complex problem-solving, teamwork, communication, leadership, responsible business, governance and ethics. Stakeholders include faculty, students, alumni, corporate partners, government and civil society organisations, as well as industry experts, business leaders, mentors, investors and aspiring entrepreneurs. Together with the power and reach of business schools, these stakeholders can advocate for an entrepreneurial culture that will develop the economy and transform society. It was back in 2007 that the first essential component of this intricate ‘jigsaw puzzle’ at AUC was established: the El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Centre (KCC). Over the years, KCC has produced more than 200 business cases, addressing a variety of entrepreneurial and family business issues with a focus on emerging markets. In 2011, KCC started gaining real global visibility by contributing several cases to a special edition of Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalisation published to coincide with that year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Previously, the subject of entrepreneurship was only covered very casually within the AUC School of Business curriculum. It appeared in a chapter of a textbook used in teaching an undergraduate course called Business and Society – a state of affairs that clearly had to change. In autumn 2009, therefore, following the founding of the AUC School of Business (formerly the School of Business, Economics and Communication), a new mission statement was formulated, which read as follows: “To create an environment that fosters the development of principled and innovative business leaders and entrepreneurs who can make a difference”.
Establishing an entrepreneurial school could not have been realised simply by introducing entrepreneurship courses or organising seminars as verticals. Given that entrepreneurship can only flourish through creative collaboration and by breaking down silos, it had to be seamlessly integrated into the existing culture, embedded within the school’s portfolio of offerings. Championing the culture of entrepreneurship In 2010, the university established Egypt’s first Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to encourage the faculty’s entrepreneurial ambitions and protect its intellectual property –another key piece of the puzzle. The TTO was a building block in the journey to help entrepreneurs move from ideation to value creation to the marketplace. For the AUC School of Business, the aim was to strategically reposition itself as the educational partner of the national entrepreneurial ecosystem that was in the making, as well as playing an influential role in building it. The objective was to change how students and learners think, generate ideas, perceive opportunities, understand innovation, take risks, develop alternative solutions and become impact-driven. It was essential early in the journey to realise some quick wins to build momentum and make an impact. Accordingly, the school decided to proceed along two parallel paths; the first was off-campus and involved formulating a nationwide community development programme to expedite and scale its advocacy efforts in terms of creating such an ecosystem. The second was on-campus: several courses in entrepreneurship were launched, coupled with an awareness campaign brought to life through public lectures, workshops and seminars. In 2010, the school established the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP) to help educate students and entrepreneurs through various means, including seminars, bootcamps, networking events and mentorship schemes. EIP aimed to help spread entrepreneurship to a broader audience, identifying promising entrepreneurs, helping them to develop innovative ideas, formulate their business plans and turn them into viable start-ups. In addition, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council (EIC) was established in this year and included representatives from faculty, students, alumni, business leaders, policymakers and government officials from Egypt and the wider MEA region. In 2011, the school introduced a minor course in entrepreneurship, offered to all undergraduates, regardless of their majors. By 2013, enrolment in entrepreneurship courses was among the highest on campus and the required vibe around entrepreneurship was gaining momentum among the entire university community. The journey of spreading the culture of entrepreneurship on campus progressed and began to play an instrumental role in developing the national entrepreneurial ecosystem. Providing a step-up to promising start-ups In 2013, one of the most significant pieces of the jigsaw was created: the first university-based incubator/accelerator in Egypt, the Venture Lab (V-Lab). The lab supports selected high-growth and innovation‑driven early-stage start-ups from Egypt and the MEA region in the commercialisation of their technologies and business models, turning these into successful and sustainable ventures. Although hosted in the School
Ambition | JUNE 2024 | 25
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online