Build Before You Begin

Certificate in Entrepreneurship Practice

For Visionary Individuals Making This their Smarter Year

Whether you’re preparing for university or exploring your path as a next-generation entrepreneur, the Certificate in Entrepreneurship Practice equips you with the real-world experience, entrepreneurial mindset, and strategic tools to step into the future with purpose and profit. More than just a business course, this is an intensive, innovation-driven journey where students build real ventures, develop market-ready ideas, and cultivate the mindset of successful founders.

Whether your goal is to start your own business, contribute to your family enterprise, or prepare for a high-impact university experience, this program gives you the tools, networks, and experience to stand out—and scale up.

About the Program

From Idea to Innovation to Income—In Just 12 Months.

The program empowers students to develop a Profitable Innovation Project—a business or solution with measurable market value—guided by global entrepreneurs, experienced coaches, and the proprietary Decalogue Management Methodology. It combines the best of theory, fieldwork, mentorship, and enterprise labs into a practical, future-forward learning experience.

Students will leave with:

✔ A tested and validated business idea, project or innovation
✔ Skills in strategy, leadership, and brand development
✔ Deep entrepreneurial insight grounded in systems thinking
✔ The confidence and competence to pitch, fund, and run a venture

The Certificate is perfect for:

✅   Trailblazers who want to turn their ideas into real, revenue-generating ventures
✅   Innovators who want to build, lead, and create
✅   Transitioning Career persons switching careers
✅   Heirs of Successful Business Owners (SBO) being prepared to add value to family enterprises economic value from a young age
✅   Future founders who want to build their first business before age 20
✅   Creatives, coders, innovators, and influencers who want to turn passion into purpose
✅   Students who want more than textbooks—who want traction, transformation, and tangible results

Delivered in in-person format from Mombasa, Kenya, the program is an ideal blend of intellectual rigor, practical application, and global exposure—preparing the next generation of Africa’s entrepreneurs and global leaders.

Whether you’re dreaming of launching your own brand, scaling a family business, or shaping an innovation that solves real problems, this program offers the platform, people, and process to help you succeed.

“You don’t need to wait for university to change the world. You can start building it now.”

Course Outlook

The Certificate in Entrepreneurship Practice Program is an exciting course where you do not just learn about entrepreneurship from others, but you practice entrepreneurship yourself during the academic year.

You will benefit from:

  • dedicated  and experienced practitioner mentors who will provide you with one-to-one guidance throughout the academic year to help you achieve your entrepreneurial objectives
  • world-leading academics who will help you push the boundaries of entrepreneurial innovation and provide you with a bespoke academic perspective on what works and does not work
  • the CIRMI Enterprise Lab where you can put your knowledge and skills into practice in a safe environment with support from your practitioner and academic mentors
  • a creative program design enabling you to continuously experiment, self-develop and reflect on your entrepreneurial practice
  • a diverse multi-experience multi-background cohort that will become your peer-support network for life
  • the CIRMI membership, an entrepreneurial ecosystem, which provides a gateway to local, national, and international entrepreneurial networks

STARTS ON

Feb 9th, 2026

DURATION

12 Months, Fulltime,
Mon – Fri 8am – 1pm

PROGRAM FEE

US$3,692

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Campus Immersion & Networking Opportunities

CPGE accreditation

Entry requirements

A well-researched personal statement setting out the objectives that you want to achieve over the duration of the programme as well as longer-term goals, with reference to relevant experiences.

Course Schedule

Module One: Breakthrough Thinking for Continuous Innovation (Semester I)

Part of our growth, as companies or as individuals, is to experience being “stuck”. We may be resisting some change or unsure of a direction to take. This is usually a signal that it is time to break through to a new level of development. Being stuck is due to a series of limiting mental models we are probably unaware of. The good news is that this is precisely the material we need to develop a breakthrough, if we have a method. In this introductory program, participants learn the Conflict Cloud Thinking Process. 

It provides a method through language to:

  1. unveil the limiting mental models that are creating a situation of blockage;
  2. identify a solution (Injection) that will overcome the blockage. The solution is an innovation that breaks through the situation of blockage. It is systemic (win-win) as it sees the big picture, protects the legitimate needs of those involved and focuses on a common goal.

Module Two: Crafting Complete, Thought-through Solutions for a Desirable Future
Once we have identified a solution, we need a way to check that our solution will lead to desired outcomes and that it is complete. We also need to be able to identify and avoid potential unintended consequences that can interfere with the success of implementing our solution. 

In this custom program, participants build on their ability to develop solutions (Injections) using a Conflict Cloud by learning to: 

  1. Identify positive outcomes of these solutions through cause-and-effect reasoning (Future Reality Thinking Process); 
  2. Raise potential negative consequences and “trim” them, i.e. use cause-and-effect logic to identify a way to prevent negative implications of the solution (Negative Branch Thinking Process)

Module Three: Systemic Strategy and Implementation 
Some situations of blockage are complex: they involve multiple interdependencies and/or stakeholders. We need a different kind of Conflict Cloud for this. The Core Conflict Cloud provides a method to take a series of seemingly disconnected “undesirable effects” in our current reality and transform them into the starting point for developing a breakthrough solution. Implementing this solution will lead us to a whole new level of performance and desired results.

In this advanced, custom program, participants learn to:

  1. Build a Core Conflict Cloud, starting from the Undesirable Effects they recognize in their current reality;
  2. Interconnect the solutions (Injections) and check for completeness and thoroughness in a Future Reality Tree, anticipating positive outcomes and “trimming” potential negative implications. This provides a visual map of the overall strategy;
  3. Design a thought-through implementation path by building a Prerequisite Tree to sequence the intermediate objectives that lead to achieving an Injection;
  4. Manage the roll out of the implementation in a reliable way by identifying and sequencing the tasks/actions required in a Transition

Module Four: External Constraint
External Constraint was first introduced in Dr. Goldratt’s business novel ‘It’s Not Luck’. It is a highly effectively approach to marketing and sales based on a detailed conversation with the customer about how everybody involved can make things better in a win–win way. The approach looks at the entire value network a company is part of and develops maximum value through an “unrefusable offer”. It prompts companies to integrate marketing and sales with operations to be able to deliver the value presented.

In this advanced custom program, participants learn to: 

  1. Understand what the customer is sensitive to with a set of detailed instructions to collect their Undesirable Effects
  2. Increase market awareness of the value of their offer
  3. Create an unrefusable offer for the client based on their Undesirable Effects and Core Conflict
  4. Build a presentation of the unrefusable offer following detailed instructions to create a much higher probability of achieving buy-in from the client
  5. Show the advantages of cooperation to the entire value chain involved

Module Five: Project Phase

  1. Use the 10 steps of the Decalogue Management Methodology to launch or grow an existing business 
  2. Launch-ready strategy for project implementation

12-Month Calendar with 6-Month Business Growth Project

STRUCTURE:
    • Months 1–7: Training Phase (TOC modules + preparation for real-world application)

    • Months 8–11: Business Growth Project Implementation Phase (applying TOC in a real company)

    • Month 12: Project Review, Business Outcomes Evaluation, Capstone Presentation

Months 1–7: Capacity Building Through TOC Modules

MonthModuleFocusExpected Growth Impact
Month 1Module 1: Breakthrough Thinking– Learn Conflict Cloud Process
– Identify limiting mental models
– Define business blockage in sales or growth
Clarify internal bottlenecks in sales, operations, marketing, mindset
Month 2Module 2: Thought-Through Solutions– Future Reality Tree + Negative Branch
– Validate solutions
– Prepare changes with least risk
Draft systemic innovations to overcome sales stagnation or profit erosion
Month 3–4Module 3: Strategy & Implementation– Build Core Conflict Cloud
– Prerequisite + Transition Tree
– Connect solutions to business growth plan
Create a strategic roadmap for achieving increased profit or expansion
Month 5–6Module 4: External Constraint (Sales/Marketing)– Create Unrefusable Offer
– Align value chain
– Design marketing and sales messaging
Improve sales conversion and differentiate offer in market
Month 7Pre-Project Phase– Finalize project design
– Apply all Trees to real company
– Define KPIs (sales %, margin, revenue growth)
Launch-ready strategy for project implementation

Months 8–11: Project Phase – Apply TOC in Your Business

MonthActivitiesExpected Growth Outcome
Month 8Launch Business Growth Project
– Implement Phase 1 of strategy
– Focus: bottleneck removal
Early wins: increased lead quality, reduced rework, shorter sales cycles
Month 9Rollout Value Proposition
– Use Unrefusable Offer
– Optimize operations to match demand
Improved conversion rates, greater client satisfaction
Month 10Scaling Phase
– Streamline operations
– Align supply/delivery with increased demand
Better cash flow, improved capacity utilization, higher throughput
Month 11Stabilization & Optimization
– Remove remaining negative branches
– Finalize new business model
Sustainable margin growth, more predictable sales outcomes

Month 12: Capstone and Evaluation

Focus AreaActivity
Business ReviewPresent sales and profit growth metrics
Learning ImpactShowcase application of TOC Trees in business
Feedback LoopIdentify next constraints and future innovation opportunities
Peer PresentationShare project case study and growth outcomes

Teaching, learning and assessment

At the heart of the program is dynamic, mentor-inspired and mentor-guided, active learning. The profile of your practitioner and academic mentors will depend on where you are on your entrepreneurial journey and the type of venture you want to create and/or grow.

Your learning journey will be underpinned by two innovative program-long mentor-supported modules:

The CIRMI Enterprise Lab will offer you an authentic and interactive start-up simulation experience spanning the early stages of ideation, planning and testing, and extending to the stages of running and growing an innovative business.

The Entrepreneurial Self-development and Leadership module will enable you to design and implement together with your mentors an individual program to enhance your entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and capabilities, and continuously reflect on your entrepreneurial practice from the point of admission to completion.

Our theory and practical modules  will be fueled by a robust portfolio of essentials of entrepreneurial innovation. This will include a combination of stimulating knowledge ‘mini-bites’ on:

Program Highlights

  • Theory of Constraints (TOC) TrainingStructured modules focusing on identifying and overcoming business bottlenecks.

  • Practical ApplicationImplementation of learned concepts in a real-world business project.

  • Expert GuidanceAccess to experienced mentors and industry experts.

  • Networking OpportunitiesEngagement with a community of like-minded entrepreneurs

Fees, finance and scholarships

Fees, finance and scholarships

  • Home: $3,692

Funding your studies

It can be hard to know what financial help is available to you as a student.

Further information about the variety of options that can help fund your studies and maximise the money available to you is available on our funding your studies section.

Additional course costs

While there are no compulsory additional costs associated with this course, there may be general additional costs that you may incur as a student. A list of the sort of costs you might expect can be found on our fees and finance section.

Scholarships

We award limited scholarships to local and international students on the basis of academic excellence, personal circumstances or economic hardship.

Early registrations are encouraged.

Flexible payment options available. View payment plans

Starts On 9th Feb, 2026

Support for your studies

At CIRMI, we’re committed to supporting your success, well-being and future ambitions.

We’re here to provide everything you need to make the most of your time with us, ensuring you not only excel in your studies, but also step confidently into the world of graduate employment. 

Research

The program is underpinned by the research expertise of world-leading academics in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation, digitally enabled business models, circular economy, and sustainability.

Got a question?

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