Exploring the State of Virtual Business Incubation in Kenya: A Survey of Selected Business Incubators
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Date
2026-04-15
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Lukenya University
Abstract
There remains a significant
level of unemployment in Kenya
especially among the young generation of
under 35 years of age. The
Government of Kenya,
its development partners and private
sector continue to put efforts to alleviate this
problem. One of their major focus points is
entrepreneurship especially at micro and
small levels. Unfortunately, these micro and
small enterprises have continued to record
high mortality rates hence persistence of the
unemployment problem. To reduce startup
mortality rates business incubation has been
evidenced by some studies as a viable
solution. However, most incubation
activities are done in on-site brick and
mortar business incubators requiring face-toface interactions between the incubators’
staff and facilities and incubates.
Unfortunately, this model of operation is
under serious threat particularly with the
advent of COVID 19 pandemic globally.
This study aimed at finding out the state of
virtual business incubation in Kenya. It was
anchored in Schumpeter’s Theory of
Creative Destruction as improved in the
Simon’s Model. It employed a descriptive
survey research design whereby a semi
structured questionnaire was electronically
issued to six randomly selected business
incubators spread across six counties in the
country. The main finding was that business
incubators in Kenya had not taken up virtual
incubation within a majority of their
services, except in training and networking.
Lack of reliable ICT infrastructure and
failure by the incubators to re-package their
services in a manner that would facilitate online delivery were cited as the main
challenges facing virtual business incubation
in the country. Nevertheless, the study noted
that business incubators appreciate the
benefits posed by virtual incubation and
were optimistic about its future adoption.
The study recommends that larger scale indepth studies be carried out to identify
specific factors influencing effective virtual
business incubation in Kenya.
Key Words: Virtual Business Incubation,
COVID 19, Start-up, SMEs