Comprehensive
Curriculum
Sustainable transformative value chains that create employment and wealth require startups and progressive development of new ventures so as to grow customer base and market, geographical coverage, firm turnover and profits. To this end, Origin Venture Growth School, admits innovator-entrepreneur-students with ventures that are along the value chains for a more long-term and deeper learning. The students receive education, systematically organized to support their venture development whilst progressing towards attainment of academic credentials. Additionally, they are equipped with practical skills and mentorship to build their resilience.
The initial cohort has fifteen innovator-entrepreneur-students representing founders and co-founders of thirteen scalable ventures based on innovations in the transformative value chains. Origin’s target for such scalable ventures is a total of fifty in the next two years.
Origin as a key industry partner. Origin creates the environment for the student-entrepreneur to succeed in his or her business ventures. At admission, Origin provides the student-entrepreneur with the tools and a platform to identify a great innovation by effectively scoping challenges whose solution have a potential for scaling up. Furthermore, students can enhance their chance of succeeding by selecting challenges from Origin’s list of transformative value chains that it has identified and developed over time; Origin can facilitate the student-entrepreneur to solve and implement solutions that are in its list of challenges. Subsequently, Origin brings on-board outstanding entrepreneurs to serve as role models, mentors and speakers; it runs a global network of top-tier entrepreneurship and innovation academics from Africa and diaspora to teach topics and/or units, supervise and mentor the student-entrepreneur; Origin organizes innovation and entrepreneurial activities including talks, seminars, workshops, and exhibitions, events; and very importantly, it arranges events to expose entrepreneurs to sources of capital: viz., equity funds, banks, angel investors and venture capitalist; Origin provides a platform for showcasing innovations.
Our Expertise
Our Mission
We create vigorous programs that help produce graduates with innovative entrepreneurial skills who can create, develop, and scale high-growth start-up companies, and successfully manage their growth in a rapidly evolving global business environment.
Startup Name: Pareina Company Limited. Trademark: Dunia Bora.
Vincent Muhoro is a Net Zero and ESG analyst pioneering Africa-led solutions by transforming invasive cactus into anti-aging juice and plant-based leather. A Master’s student at DeKUT, he is building circular economies across arid lands — proving that climate innovation in Africa can be regenerative, homegrown, and globally relevant.
Startup Name: Pareina Company Limited. Trademark: Dunia Bora.
Careen Jepchirchir is a biochemist and the Innovation Lead at Dunia Bora. She develops cactus-based juice, jam, and biopolymers—transforming underused natural resources into practical solutions that increase the per capita income of farmers in arid lands through value addition and creation of employment.
Startup Name: Orifish Aquatech Company
Mechanical Engineering graduate and MIE student with a passion for developing impactful tech solutions. As Co-Founder of Orifish Aquatech, he leads the creation of scalable, context-driven engineering systems that promote efficiency, sustainability, and improved livelihoods across underserved African communities.
Startup Name: Hamara Africa Energy PvT
I’m a co-founder of Hamara Africa Energy and passionate about clean cooking solutions for rural communities in Kenya. My drive lies in delivering impactful innovations that improve lives, foster sustainability, and improve lives in rural households.
Startup Name: Orifish Aquatech Company
Wainaina Macharia, an MIE student at DeKUT, is a mechanical engineering graduate innovating in the aquaculture industry. As a co-founder of Orifish Aquatech, he develops specialized machinery, like a fish feed pelletizer, delivering scalable solutions to optimize fish value chains.
Startup Name: Orifish Aquatech Company
Innovative mechanical engineer and Master’s student in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, dedicated to advancing aquacultural technology in Africa. Focused on enhancing fish farming profitability and sustainability using locally sourced solutions to improve farmers’ livelihoods and promote better nutrition across the continent. Combines technical expertise with entrepreneurial vision to drive impactful, scalable innovations.
Startup Name: Iray Dairies Company
Irine Kahiro is a Mechanical Engineering graduate currently pursuing a Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is the co-founder of Iray Dairies Company, an agri-business venture transforming the dairy sector through innovative, sustainable solutions. She applies practical design and engineering skills to improve efficiency, add value, and promote sustainability in the dairy value chain.
Startup Name: Iray Dairies Company
Arnold Yawa, a mechanical engineer and agripreneur, currently an MIE student at DeKUT. He is the founder of Iray Dairies Innovation Ltd, a venture focusing on automating and improving dairy production for medium and smallholder farmers. Driven by the vision “Transforming African dairy, one farm at a time,” he blends engineering and entrepreneurship to solve real-world agricultural challenges.
Startup Name: Orifish Aquatech Company
She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE). She co-leads Orifish Aquatech Company, where she drives the design of smart aquaculture systems—leveraging technology to enhance fish farming efficiency, data integration, and sustainable resource use in emerging markets.
Contact
Send Inquiries to admin@originlabsafrica.org