Entrepreneurship
has been a major topic of discussion in the country in the wake of diminishing
employment opportunities. The government has spearheaded several initiatives in
a bid to promote entrepreneurship including setting up of Youth & Women Enterprise
Funds-which provide loans at much lower rates than the commercial banks. With
these kinds of boosts, the entrepreneurship spirit has continued to grow with
many people now venturing into business. However, Moi University community
seems to have been left out in this quest for wealth creation and
self-employment.
Establishment
of a university in a given locality usually brings with it lots of
opportunities which could boost economic prospects of that particular area
owing to the large population. Moi University was established in 1984 and 28
years down the line the entrepreneurship spirit in the area leaves much to be
desired. Be as it may, the local community has not taken full advantage of the
potential business opportunities available that could rake in thousands of
shillings if not millions. Some of the sectors that the community ought to have
ventured into include:
Real Estate:
This is currently one of the most profitable ventures in the country. The
perpetual problem of room shortage has always been experienced in the
university every academic year. This presents an opportunity for the local
community who can build hostels for the students who miss university
accommodation. What if we had a building similar to Hostel H put up at Talai Shopping center or Cheboiywo?
Transport:
This perhaps is the highest performing sector in Moi University community save
for cartels and tribalism that has dogged the sector thereby limiting its full
potential. However, much needs to be done since there are still opportunities
in the sector.
Entertainment:
No offence, but entertainment in this place is just whack. Currently, we only
have two main entertainment joints which have small space that cannot even hold
20 people at any given time. Comrades have been forced to buy drinks and enjoy
them outside the bar in usually the chilling cold of this part of Kenya. What
if we had our ‘Signature’ or ‘Spree’?
Hotel/Catering:
No hard feelings but the quality of food here is way below average and perhaps
it could be the reason most comrades prefer to cook for themselves. Hotel
ventures can be very profitable especially if quality and quantity of food is
addressed. In addition to that, the hotels lack food diversity thereby limiting
choice of food. As it stands now, there are three ‘hotels’ while the rest are
‘vibandas’. The ‘hotels’ and ‘Vibandas’ alike charge exorbitant food prices
which is not commensurate with food quality/quantity with Ugali-Mboga going for
Ksh.50 as opposed to market price of Ksh.30.
Information, Communication & Technology:
The profitability of this sector has significantly reduced owing to the
proliferation of internet enabled phones and the free wireless internet
provided by the university. However, there are still other people who do not
have access to computers or smart phones. Currently, there only two cybers with
a capacity of 10 people against an estimated population of 12000 students. As a
result, comrades have been forced to queue for cyber services.
There
are myriad challenges in entrepreneurship. Nonetheless, the local community can
still tap the opportunities lying in the sectors discussed above. The
development in this area, 28 years down the line could be astounding. However,
it’s never too late especially with the fact that the university will never
close its doors owing to the accelerated program.
