Role of Social Networks in University Based Business Incubators in Promoting Entrepreneurship Growth in Kenya

Entrepreneurs are widely recognized as the prime movers of economic development; the people who translate ideas into action. The government of Kenya has initiated numerous programs and policies to support entrepreneurship growth in Kenya. For instance, it has undertaken policy reviews that have led to reduction of the required licenses to start and operate a business. It has initiated several monetary funds to assist entrepreneurs, particularly youth and women, obtain financing for their enterprises i.e. the Youth Enterprise Fund, Women Enterprise Fund and Uwezo Fund. Private sector players such as commercial Banks, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and Savings and Credit Co-operatives Societies (SACCOs) among others have also come up with formal financial support schemes for entrepreneurs. However the start- up failure rate is still very high and the desired growth levels are yet to be achieved. Consequently some scholars and policy makers have turned to business incubators and particularly university based business incubators as a possible boost to entrepreneurship growth through nurturing start-ups. A major area in the operation of an incubator is the social networks created among incuatees themselves and other external parties outside of the incubator. Literature reviewed indicates that incubators play the role of networking facilitator. This study aimed to find out the role of social networks in university based business incubators on entrepreneurship growth in Kenya. The six active university based business incubators in Kenya were investigated with a specific focus on all the fifty nine graduated incubatees from the said incubators. Census technique was used given that the total number of all graduated incubatees (59) could be adequately studied. The study used a semi structured questionnaire as the main tool of data collection. A combination of tools was used to analyze the data because whereas some aspects of the study were qualitative others were of a quantitative nature. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 software through descriptive statistics; measures of central tendency (mean and mode), measures of dispersion (standard deviation and variance) and inferential statistics. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The study found out that social networks have a significant positive effect on entrepreneurship growth. An improvement in social networks would lead to an 81% improvement on entrepreneurship growth. The study recommends that in order to create wider social networks for incubatees, university based business incubators need to reach out more to industry players and the already successful entrepreneurs.