The Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED) announced the opening of a research, training and innovation facility in Nairobi, Kenya by June 2016.

The upcoming regional center in Nairobi is the second project undertaken by SEED to engage with entrepreneurship in Africa. This initiative expands upon the creation of the regional center for West Africa in Accra, Ghana three years earlier.

The Stanford Graduate School of Business-led initiative was founded in 2011 by Stanford alumnus and venture capitalist Robert King M.B.A. ’60 and his wife Dorothy King.

SEED is an institution dedicated to research and to the practical application of innovation in entrepreneurship. It aims to sponsor sustainable economic growth of businesses and to prompt job creation in order to end the cycle of poverty in developing countries. Stanford hopes to bring its innovative drive and the expertise gained over decades of educating innovators in the Silicon Valley to the East African region.

To tackle its mission of actively participating in the alleviation of poverty, SEED offers an integrated approach of research programs, as well internships designed for Stanford undergraduate and graduate students. The SEED Transformation Program (STP) specifically targets budding entrepreneurs in Africa who are growing small- to medium-sized businesses.

During the six-month-long program, CEOs of emerging companies receive leadership training, management coaching and networking, which immediately impact economic growth through innovation and job creation. Participants must pay a fee of $5,000 to partake in this program — a fee that, for this inaugural year, has been reduced to $1,500. Applications are already open.

The initiative rests on the idea that most alarming issues of modern society, including poverty, can be addressed through leadership and practical innovation in the private sector.

Contact Chloé Hamilton at chloeh ‘at’ stanford.edu.