Amb. Bitange Ndemo, PhD., FKIM, CBS

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Kenya’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium

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Professional Profile

I am a global technocrat and currently serving as Kenya’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium. Previously, I was the Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi School of Business. I am also an advocate of development strategies leveraging emergent technologies and social enterprise in Africa. I sit on boards of several high-profile organizations such as East Africa’s most profitable company – Safaricom – and a senior advisor three UN agencies and other non-governmental institutions.

My skills, capabilities and experience are varied. They include over 8 years’ CEO-equivalent experience as Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Information and Communications for the Government of Kenya, high-level policy development and public administration, university-level teaching, academic research and graduate supervision, design and implementation of curriculum, academic leadership and administration, innovation management and public speaking to mention but a few.

I have over 30 years of business, finance and technology expertise gained from my years in Government, Higher Education and the Private Sector. I am widely published in refereed academic journals and I am also a leading public intellectual offering my expertise as a columnist and commentator in high-quality, cross-cutting media platforms.

Below is a sample of my notable achievements :

Key Achievements

  • Professor of Entrepreneurship
  • Associate Professor at the School of Business, University of Nairobi, where he supervised over 7 PhDs with 5 others at an advanced stage.
  • Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication, Republic of Kenya where I notably led the development of the undersea cables into East Africa and the Kenya Open Data Initiative and oversaw implementation of policies that enabled M-PESA and other innovations. 
  • Board Member, Safaricom PLC, the largest company in Eastern and Central Africa
  • Senior Advisor to UNCDF’s Better than Cash Alliance
  • Member of OECD Panel of Experts on Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain
  • Member of World Economic Forum’s Blockchain Council
  • A Senior Advisor to UNESCO’s NETEXPLO FORUM
  • Member of Global Learning Council
  • Senior Advisor to Research ICT Africa
  • Senior Advisor to the United Nations’ Global Pulse
  • Chair, Department of Business Administration, School of Business, University of Nairobi 
  • Author of several many academic papers, book chapters and co-author of Digital Kenya – An Entrepreneurial Revolution in the Making
  • Advisor to several governments in Africa and South America as well as other private and public sector institutions
  • Holder of a PhD in Industrial Economics from Sheffield University, United Kingdom, and degrees in business administration, accounting and finance.

Special assignments and leadership

Chairman, Kenya Government Taskforce on Distributed Ledgers & Artificial Intelligence

2018 – to date

Member, Board of Directors, Safaricom Limited

2017 – to date

Senior Advisor,UNCDF’s Better than Cash Alliance, An initiative to digitize payment systems

2013 – to date

Chairman, Department of Business Administration, University of Nairobi

2017 – 2018

Chairman, Global Alliance for Affordable Internet

2013 – 2015

Head, University-Industry Relationship committee, University of Nairobi

2018 – to date

Publications

Books

Ndemo B. and Weiss T. (2016): Digital Kenya

An Entrepreneurial Revolution in the Making. Landmark Publication featuring Key Experts from Kenya’s startup scene. Palgrave http://digitalkenyabook.com/

Book Chapters

Ndemo, B. (2020). "The role of mobile technologies and inclusive innovation policies in SME development in Sub Saharan Africa".

In A Research Agenda for Entrepreneurship Policy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786430946.00018

Ndemo, B. and Aiko, D. (2020). ‘Mobile technology and development’

In: N. Cheeseman, K. Kanyinga and G. Lynch (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Kenyan Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ndemo B. (2020) Slum Digitisation, Its Opponents and Allies in Developing Smart Cities: The Case of Kibera, Nairobi.

In: Hawken S., Han H., Pettit C. (eds) Open Cities | Open Data. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore,

Mkalama, B and Ndemo, B. (2020). Orchestrating Smart Cities, New Disruptive Business Models and Informal Enterprises.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.94075. https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/orchestrating-smart-cities-new-disruptive-business-models-and-informal-enterprises.

Ndemo, B., (2018) Toward the Transformative Power of Universal Connectivity

In Mark Graham Digital Economies at Global Margins. MIT Press.

Ndemo, B., (2018) Digital Forms of Exclusion: Ecological Systems Theory Perspective Big Data Analytics and Visualizations in the Measurement of U.N. Social Development Goals in Africa

In Graham, Eduardo, and Sanna, Big Data and Development. Oxford University Press.

Ndemo, B., and Weiss, T., (2018) A Call for Lifelong Learning Models in the Digital Age

In The Future of Work in the Global South, Galperin H., Alarcon A., International Development Research Center.

Ndemo, B. (2017) Growth of African SMEs and Jobs Will Depend on Technology Uptake

Foresight Africa, the Africa Growth Initiatives Annual Flagship Report. Washington. Brookings Institute.

Ndemo, B. (2016). The Paradigm Shift: Disruption, Creativity and Innovation in Kenya.

In B. Ndemo & T. Weiss (Eds.), Digital Kenya: An entrepreneurial revolution in the making (pp. 1 - 12). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ndemo, B. (2016). Inside a policymaker’s mind: An entrepreneurial approach to policy development and implementation.

In B. Ndemo & T. Weiss (Eds.), Digital Kenya: An entrepreneurial revolution in the making (pp. 339–367). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ndemo, B. (2016). Enabling an Inclusive Innovation Ecosystem and SME Development in Kenya: The Role of ICTs.

In Agola N., and Hunter A., Inclusive Innovation for Sustainable Development. Theory and Practice (pp 39-56). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ndemo, B. & Aiko D., (2016). Nurturing Creativity and Innovation in African Enterprises: A Case Study of Kenya.

In Mario France, Entrepreneurship Practice-Oriented Perspectives (pp 21 - 37) Intech.

Ndemo B. & Mureithi, M. (2015) Information and Communications Technologies.

In Terence McNamee, Mark Pearson and Wieber Boer, Africans Investing in Africa: Understanding Business and Trade, Sector by Sector (pp 177-202). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ndemo, B., (2015) Effective Innovation Policies Development: A Case of Kenya.

The Global Innovation Index 2015: Effective Innovation Policies for Development.

Ndemo B. (2007) Entrepreneurship and Change. International Handbook of Research on Indigenous

Entrepreneurship pp. 84-99. Edited by Leo-Paul and Robert B. Anderson. (2007). http://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=x9l_WMIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=x9l_WMIAAAAJ:zYLM7Y9cAGgC

Other Book Chapters and Reports

Ndemo, B. (2016) Leveraging on our past to build a better future pp 224-233. Where is Kenya – 50 Voices Speak?

Edited by Susan Wakhungu Githuku (2013).

Ndemo, B. (2015) Using Policy to Develop A BPO Industry in Africa

Africa Policy Review. London. Kempstone Media.

Articles Published in Refereed Journals

Ndemo B., Mkalama B., (2019) Globalization: Do African Women Entrepreneurs Matter?

International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research. Vol.1(2). Pp 89-104

Ndemo B., (2018) Institutionalism and Development Process of Family Firms in Kenya.

African Journal of Business Management. Vol. 12(24) , pp 726-736.

Ndemo B., (2018) The Promise of New Entrepreneurial Models in Africa’s Digital Future.

International Journal of SME and Business Sustainability. Volume 3, Number 3 November 2018. ISSN 2242 – 9368 (Online)

Ndemo B., and Mkalama (2018) Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya: Current State, Opportunities and Challenges

International Journal of SME and Business Sustainability. Volume 3, Number 3 November 2018. ISSN 2242 – 9368 (Online).

Mkalama B., Ndemo, B., and Maalu, (2018) The Antecedents of Innovativeness in Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises in Kenya: A Critical Literature Review.

African Journal of Business Management. Vol. 12(17), pp. 527-535, 14 September, 2018 DOI: 10.5897/AJBM2018.8618 Article Number: C57144D58770 ISSN: 1993-8233.

Ndemo, B. (2018) Digital Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Government Support in Kenya.

International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research. Vol. 2, No. 02; 2018. ISSN: 2456-7760.

Tulus, T., Ndemo, B., & Mkalama, B., (2018) A Comparative Study on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia and Kenya.

Center for Industry, SME and Business Competition Studies, USAKTI. Research Collaboration Paper Series No.10, October 2018.

Ndemo, B & Weiss T. (2017) Making Sense of Africa's Emerging Digital Transformation and its Many Futures

Africa Journal of Management Vol. 3, Iss. 3-4,2017.

Koitamet, K, L., Ndemo, B., (2017) Effects of Financial Access on the performance of Social Entrepreneurship Firms in Kenya.

American Journal of Finance. Vol. 1 No. 5.

Koitamet, K, L., Ndemo, B., (2017) Determinants of the Performance of Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya

International Journal of Entrepreneurship. Vol. 1 No. 1.

Kawiria, M. F., Ndemo, B., (2016) Employee Perception Towards Talent Management Strategy and Staff Retention at Deloitte & Touche, Kenya.

Journal of Strategic Management ISSN 2520-0461(Online Vol.1, Issue 1 No.1, pp 18 - 35, (2016)

Ndemo, E B (2015) Political Entrepreneurialism: Reflections of a Civil Servant on the Role of Political Institutions in Technology Innovation and Diffusion in Kenya

International Journal of Security and Development 4(1): 15, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/sta.fd

Ndemo B and Smallbone D. (2015) Linkage Dynamics between MSEs and Multinational Corporations in Kenya.

A longitudinal review of a 2005 conference paper –DBA Africa Management Review 1 2015. University of Nairobi.

Nalianya, C., Ndemo, B., Gathongo (2015) The Significance of Faith Based Enterprises in the Dual Roles of Social Good and Economic Development in Kenya.

DBA Management Review 2015. University of Nairobi.

Dennis M. A. and Ndemo B. (2014) What drives women out of Entrepreneurship? The joint role of culture and access to finance.

DBA Africa Management Review 2 (2014).

Ndemo B. Rushda Majeed (2012) Case Study: Disseminating the Power of Information: Kenya Open Data Initiative. Innovation for Successful Societies.

Princeton University Press (2012). [Online] http://successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/sites/successfulsocieties/files/interviews/transcripts/3517/bitange_ndemo.pdf.

Ndemo B. (2006) Assessing sustainability of faith-based enterprises in Kenya

International Journal of Social Economics 33 (5/6), 446-462 (2006). [Online] http://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=x9l_WMIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=x9l_WMIAAAAJ:UeHWp8X0CEIC.

Ndemo B. (2005) Maasai Entrepreneurship and Change.

Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship Vol. 18 No. 2. Spring 2005 pp 207-219. (2005)

Forthcoming Papers

Ndemo B., (2020) Entrepreneurial Education and Innovative Pedagogy: A Case Study of Mpesa Foundation Academy.

Journal of Small Business Management.

Tulus, T., Ndemo, B., & Mkalama, B., (2018) A Comparative Study on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia and Kenya.

Center for Industry, SME and Business Competition Studies, USAKTI. Research Collaboration Paper Series No.10, October 2018.

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