Modes of Innovation and Enterprise Development by Nairobi’s Mobile Tech Startups
Open AIR Working Paper No. 22/2020
31 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2020
Date Written: June 8, 2020
Abstract
This paper sets out findings from research into innovation dynamics in the mobile technology ecosystem in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The findings are drawn from a survey of 25 mobile tech startups, all but one of which were, at the time of the research, located at, or were linked to, one of Nairobi’s numerous tech hubs. The survey results provide insights into the startups’ approaches—in support of their innovation and enterprise development efforts—to open collaboration, human resource development, knowledge governance, and scaling.
Keywords: mobile tech startups, tech hubs, innovation, collaboration, human resource development, knowledge governance, scaling, partnerships, networking, openness, informality, Nairobi, Kenya
JEL Classification: O30, O31, O32, O33, O34, O39
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