Projects

With our projects, we contribute to scientific research by investigating the effects of entrepreneurship training programs.

In Ethiopia, our team implemented PI Training as part of the Women Entrepreneurship Development Project, initiated by the World Bank. We randomly selected and assigned 2,000 growth-oriented women entrepreneurs operating in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa to either PI Training, a holistic business training, or a control group. The research design aimed at understanding the specific outcomes and mechanisms of different training approaches.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, our team conducted a randomized controlled experiment with 3,600 female entrepreneurs in Goma and Lubumbashi. We compared two types of training settings aiming to increase business success: the Personal Initiative Training taught to the female entrepreneurs alone (“PI”) and a version of the Personal Initiative Training including the partner/husband of the female entrepreneur (“PI²”). Our team evaluated which version of the training was more successful in changing the mindset of female entrepreneurs to increase their personal initiative and business success. 1,200 female-entrepreneurs were in each treatment arm (individual PI Training – “PI”, PI Training involving the partner – “PI²”, and control group). The project was implemented by the PADMPME (“Projet d’Appui au Développement des Micro, Petites et Moyennes Entreprises”) by the Congolese Ministry of SMEs in collaboration with the World Bank.

A research project in Jamaica investigated effects of a combination of PI and business practices training compared to a version of PI Training that particularly focused on persistence. The project was initiated by the Inter-American Development Bank and assigned approximately 1,000 entrepreneurs from the country’s capital Kingston and adjoining parishes to one of the two training groups or a control group. Besides contrasting PI Training with a combination of PI and business practices training, a distinguishing element of this project was its behavioral focus in measuring outcomes of the intervention.

KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
Kenyatta University has become a key partner after they have joined the project in 2011. Kenyatta University was the first university in Kenya to implement the STEP Training. Furthermore, at Kenyatta University it was the first time that a representative of the National Commission for UNESCO became a certified STEP trainer and was a member of the core team delivering the training to the students. This illustrates that people from various backgrounds can become STEP trainers. It is also a symbol for the integrated cooperation between our Leuphana team, the partner universities, and the national commissions for UNESCO. Since 2012, the STEP Training has been running on a yearly basis with students from different disciplines and in different years of studies. The project at Kenyatta University is a model for the fruitful cooperation between all partners and for the extension of the STEP Training from a focal partner university to other national universities. Accordingly, Kenyatta University was the first university to be awarded the “STEP best-practice award” during the 2013 STEP regional conference in Kampala, Uganda.

MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY
The Mount Kenya University was the second university in Kenya to implement STEP. STEP is conducted on the main campus of Mount Kenya University in Thika, a town in Kenya’s Kiambu County. Mount Kenya University conducted the STEP Training for the first time in 2018 with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). After successful implementation and cooperation, it was possible to continue the training with support of the DAAD and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Kenyatta University and Mount Kenya University work closely together to assure the long-term implementation of STEP in Kenya in other parts of the country beyond the university context.

STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY
Strathmore University Business School was the third university in Kenya to conduct the STEP Training. This training has been supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The university is located in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. The STEP Training has been conducted at Strathmore University Business School in 2018 for the first time. The cooperation of Leuphana and Strathmore University did not only include the joint implementation of the STEP Training but was also followed by joint research afterwards.

AZM UNIVERSITY
The AZM University was the first university in Lebanon – and generally the first in an Arabic country – to implement STEP. Located in the country’s second-largest city, Tripoli, AZM University implemented STEP for the first time in 2019. Funded by the DAAD, this project aims at establishing a network of universities to jointly foster entrepreneurship education in Lebanon. It marks an entry point to establish an entrepreneurship track at AZM University and to prepare students for extracurricular activities in terms of national and international entrepreneurship competitions. After the first successful implementation in 2019, the Arab Open University joined the project in 2020 to implement STEP at both universities. It was the first ever implementation of STEP in a synchronous but virtual learning style. The vital exchange between researchers and project coordinators from all institutions demonstrates the great interest in promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education in Lebanon.

Our 2015 Lesotho project was the pioneer program for expanding STEP to Southern Africa. Through the implementation at three different institutions, it reached a total of 249 participants, 200 of whom participated in the training while 49 constituted the control group. In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of the training in a new context, a particular focus of the evaluation study was put on the assessment of entrepreneurial identity as well as entrepreneurial passion. This program became possible thanks to Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), Lesotho National Commission for UNESCO as well as the German Commission for UNESCO.

UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA IN MONROVIA
The implementation of the STEP Training at University of Liberia constituted a milestone in the history of STEP for several reasons. First, the project at University of Liberia was the first project that was supported by the German Commission for UNESCO. The German Commission for UNESCO was the main driver in initiating and sustaining the project in Liberia. The German Commission for UNESCO financially supported the project and established the relationship with the National Commission for UNESCO in Liberia as well as the University of Liberia. Second, the project in Liberia was the first STEP Training that was conducted outside of Uganda. The project thus showed that the STEP Training can be applied in different international contexts and is not only useful for countries in East but also in West Africa. Third, the STEP Training at University of Liberia was the first training in which the trainers were not involved in the development of the STEP Training. This means that the concept, content, and methodology of the STEP Training were all new to the trainers. It was essential to develop a train-the-trainers workshop to familiarize the team of trainers from the University of Liberia with the conceptual ideas underlying STEP. The trainers took part in a three-day train-the-trainers workshop to become certified STEP trainers. The evaluation study showed that it is possible to train a team of trainers in a workshop in a way that they grasp all the essential ideas of STEP and transfer them to the students attending the training. Finally, the project at the University of Liberia was the first implementation that took place according to a three-year cycle in which the university gradually took over the management of the training. At the end of the cycle, the university was able to run and finance the training by its own and train new lecturers without any external support by the Leuphana team.

In Madagascar, our team implemented PI Training at three local Business Development Centers as part of the World Bank’s Integrated Growth Poles and Corridors series of projects (PIC). The objective was to equip each Business Development Center with a pool of certified PI trainers. Since then, PI trainers from Antananarivo deliver PI Training to different target groups, for example to Malagasy female entrepreneurs who manage energy kiosks.

In Mexico, our team offered PI Training together with business literacy training to female entrepreneurs. The project emerged from the cooperation between Leuphana University, Crea (NGO), and the World Bank. A total of 3,200 female business owners participated in the program. 1,600 women were assigned to a training condition and 1,600 to a control/waiting control group. The research focused on factors leading to business success. Particularly, proactive behavior (PI behavior) and entrepreneurial empowerment were hypothesized to be the mechanisms that help to improve business performance.

In Mexico, STEP was implemented at the Instituto Technologico Autonom de Mexico (ITAM), the Instituto Gustavo A. Madero (Technologico Nacional de Mexico), and the Instituto Technologico de Puebla (Technologico Nacional de Mexico). The project in Mexico was the first implementation of STEP on the American continent and the first time that STEP was translated into Spanish. The three-year project was funded by the German Commission for UNESCO. In total, 602 students participated in STEP at the three institutions. The project aimed at investigating the opportunity development process during the training program, as well as success factors facilitating the long-term transfer in terms of business creation.

Under the auspices of a World Bank project led by the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice, the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) conducted a randomized control trial study to measure the impact of a training intervention targeted to a sample of 2,000 female farmers across 100 communities in Tete province, Mozambique. The intervention provided all women in the sample with training on agriculture and basic business techniques. Half of the sample also received Personal Initiative Training, which was adapted to the specific context of agricultural entrepreneurship by our team.

As part of the YEEES project (Yields of Evocative Entrepreneurial Approaches on Environment and Society), the STEP Training was held for the first time in Mozambique in cooperation with the Universidade Pedagogica Moçambique in Maxixe from August - October 2019.

The 148 applicants were randomly divided (by lot) into training (78 students) and control (70 students) groups. 47 participants successfully completed the training. Both training and control group members completed a questionnaire before and after the training. The results show significant effects of students' participation in STEP on opportunity identification, goal setting, entrepreneurial planning, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

Under the scope of a World Bank project in the context of the Pilot Interventions to Increase the Impact of Rural Roads on Factor Accumulation and Productivity in Nicaragua, our team contributed to a randomized control trial study. The target population comprised a sample of 700 household heads or spouses in rural Nicaragua. The intervention provided all participants in the sample with PI Training. 350 households of the sample also had the opportunity to sign up for a simple savings account that offered the chance of increased investment in self-employment as well as to form saving goals.

STEP was implemented once at the Godfrey Okoye University in Nigeria. In total, 234 students participated in STEP. The evaluation study showed positive short-term effects of STEP on participants’ entrepreneurial motivation and behavior.

BICOL UNIVERSITY
Bicol University is a regional state and research university located in the Bicol region of the Philippines. It was the first Asian university to become a STEP partner institution in 2015 and has been conducting the STEP Training regularly ever since. From the beginning, the goal of the training has been to create social impact by providing students with practical skills and knowledge in entrepreneurship so that they become job creators rather than job seekers. While this goal was pursued on a smaller scale in 2015, the project continued to grow until the training was finally introduced as a standard mandatory course in 2020. The "Entrepreneurial Mind Class" course, which builds on STEP, is running at the College of Science, College of Industrial Technology, College of Business Economics and Management, and College of Engineering as a mandatory course at varying levels per program for all undergraduate students at these colleges. In the future, all colleges and programs of Bicol University will offer the STEP Training program as a required course for all students. Bicol University is thus to be credited for turning a large number of students into potential job creators, and it is pursuing the overall goal of STEP with much dedication and determination.

UNIVERSITY OF RWANDA
University of Rwanda acting through the School of Finance and Banking in Kigali, Rwanda was part of our wider team starting the project in 2008. The School of Finance and Banking was a co-partner, participating in all preparatory workshops that preceded the first implementation of the STEP Training. Consequently, it was easy for the School of Finance and Banking to grasp the idea and implement STEP at its institution. The School of Finance and Banking can thus be considered as one of the founding partners of the STEP Training. Having the School of Finance and Banking as a partner from Rwanda was important to make sure that the STEP Training meets the requirements for a training that is applicable in the wider context of East African countries.

UNIVERSITY OF LIMPOPO
The University of Limpopo was the first university in South Africa to implement STEP in 2018. It is located in Mankweng in the Limpopo province. The German Commission for UNESCO supported the project. After two successful implementations in 2018 and 2019, STEP was extended to include the topic of sustainability for the third round of training in 2020. This was the first implementation of STEP S, a training version that promotes entrepreneurial and sustainability-oriented thinking and aims at creating entrepreneurs that solve societal or environmental problems. Three former STEP trainees from the University of Limpopo became facilitators for the third round of training, which indicates the high level of commitment and dedication towards STEP that is present at the partner institution. The evaluation included weekly in-depth interviews with training participants. This allowed us to better understand the processes underlying the effectiveness of the training.

UNIVERSITY OF VENDA
The University of Venda was the second university in South Africa to implement STEP. Again, this project was supported by the German Commission for UNESCO and BASF Stiftung. The university is located in Thohoyandou in the Limpopo province and is one of the few universities in the world that is located within a UNESCO biosphere reserve. After our first implementation in 2019, our team planned for the second training round in 2020 to include former STEP trainees as mentors for the current cohort. This development demonstrates that University of Venda is viewing STEP as a continuous process and a building block to consistently promote entrepreneurship.

In Togo, our team conducted a randomized controlled experiment with 1,500 micro entrepreneurs. We compared two types of training aiming to increase business success: a business training that taught business-related skills and knowledge, and the Personal Initiative Training that changed the mindset of entrepreneurs to increase their personal initiative. Additionally, 500 micro-entrepreneurs were in the control group. The results showed that the PI Training outperformed the traditional business training. Furthermore, our team sought to understand the boundary conditions of both trainings, i.e., which characteristics determine whether a participant benefits more from the business training or from Personal Initiative Training. Our team also investigated the processes by which the training programs influenced business success. Furthermore, we were interested in female-male differences in the success of the business training. The project was initiated by the World Bank and implemented in collaboration with PADSP in Togo. For further information, read the papers published in Science and JOB.

UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM
University of Dar es Salaam was one of the international co-partners participating in the STEP project since its beginning in 2008. University of Dar es Salaam has participated in all workshops to develop the STEP Training and has provided extremely valuable contributions regarding the internationalization of STEP. In 2013, the STEP Training has been implemented at University of Dar es Salaam for the first time. This implementation featured the first scientific evaluation of the STEP train-the-trainer workshop. The evaluation included a full video coverage of the workshop and all training sessions. This allowed us to conduct an in-depth examination of the processes in the training-of-trainers workshop, as well as the training sessions leading to the positive effects of STEP. The project at the University of Dar es Salaam continues on a regular basis with several follow-up studies to assess students’ long-term success.

A project in Uganda was the starting point of the first randomized controlled experiment on PI Training. It included 47 participants who attended the PI Training and 53 entrepreneurs in a waiting control group. Our team measured personal initiative and success 4-5 months and 12 months after the intervention, revealing positive short- and long-term effects of the PI Training. This study also started our team’s tradition of using evidence-based approaches to develop and evaluate PI Training. This project was supported by Makerere University Business School, by the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Auslandsdienst), and by the German Research Foundation.

For more detailed information, read the paper by Glaub and colleagues that you’ll find here.

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Makerere University in Kampala (Uganda) was the first place of implementation of the STEP Training. Makerere University is one of the major universities in East Africa with internationally renowned scholars. In 2006, our team from Leuphana University led several discussions with scholars from Makerere University to initiate the STEP project. The overarching objective was to provide a solution to the adverse labor conditions for undergraduate students by developing an entrepreneurship training program. As a result of the discussions, the STEP Training was developed in 2008 in cooperation with scholars from Makerere University, Makerere University Business School, Uganda Christian University, and Kyambogo University.
Given the key role of Makerere University in the region, it was clear that the STEP Training should take place at Makerere University. In 2009, the students of Makerere University were informed about the opportunity to take part in the first STEP Training. This led to an overwhelming response, with several hundred students applying for the training. Makerere University is thus the first university to have offered the STEP Training to its students. The STEP Training was successfully implemented and led to the first cohort of students who became enthusiastic about entrepreneurship because of STEP. The STEP Training clearly made a difference, which has been shown in long-term evaluation studies and in several interviews our team has conducted with the students over several years. All partners agreed that the training provides an answer to the adverse labor market conditions and that more students from different cohorts and at different institutions should benefit from STEP. This was the impetus for extending STEP to other institutions and regions.

UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Uganda Christian University is a main partner and belongs to our initial team of institutions taking part in the development of the STEP Training. Uganda Christian University was one of the drivers and provided invaluable contributions in all phases of the development of STEP. Therefore, it was clear that students at Uganda Christian University should take part in the first round of STEP. At the same time that the STEP Training was implemented at Makerere University, the STEP Training was also run with students from Uganda Christian University. The students keenly adopted the idea of entrepreneurship and pursuing a career as a self-employed business owner. The positive results prompted Uganda Christian University to offer the training continuously. Uganda Christian University was the first university to offer and manage a second round of the STEP Training in a semi-autonomous manner with only very little support from our team. This showed that universities can easily adopt and run the training by their own if they take ownership and commit to the idea of providing practical entrepreneurship training to their students.

UGANDA MARTYRS UNIVERSITY
Together with Kenyatta University, the implementation of STEP at Uganda Martyrs University with approximately 300 participants marked the first large scale and long-term project in cooperation with the German Commission for UNESCO. Over a period of three years, this randomized controlled trial study focused primarily on the evaluation of long-term effects of the training. Apart from that, additional variables such as capital constrains and error mastery orientation were included to assess their influence on the effectiveness of the training, resulting in two major discoveries: (1) Entrepreneurship training can help overcome capital constrains in the process of new venture creation and (2) the effectiveness of such trainings is increased for individuals with high error mastery orientation, that is, for those that have a positive attitude towards errors. Lastly, this project successfully implemented the train-the-trainer workshop to institutionalize STEP at Uganda Martyrs University.

NAKAWA VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE
The Nakawa Vocational Training Institute was the first educational institution to implement the STEP Training outside the university context. The STEP project seeks to train people at different educational levels. University students are an important group, however, students at other institutions are also in need of entrepreneurial skills. The implementation of the STEP Training at the Nakawa Vocational Training Institute was an important step to extend the training to other contexts. The implementation showed that the training concept is also applicable to vocational training institutions but needs modification to account for the educational level of the students attending vocational training programs. The experience from the Nakawa Vocational Training Institute was invaluable to successfully adapt the training to different educational contexts.

ST. JOSEPH’S SECONDARY SCHOOL
Funded by Probono One World e.V., the implementation of STEP at St. Joseph’s Secondary School marks the beginning of extending the training to levels of secondary education. 260 participants took part in the randomized controlled trial, with 118 partaking in the training and 142 in the control group. In an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of STEP for younger beneficiaries, the project had a more future oriented research interest, investigating entrepreneurial potential, entrepreneurial passion and identity, as well as the pupil’s entrepreneurial motivation. The promising results lead to the realization of the large-scale Secondary School Project in collaboration with Makerere University and Islamic University in Uganda, funded by the DAAD.

SECONDARY SCHOOL PROJECT: MAKERERE UNIVERSITY &ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
Makerere University and the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) were the first two universities that implemented a STEP curriculum for student teachers. At both universities, student teachers were trained with a modified version of the STEP curriculum to prepare them to conduct a shortened STEP Training at 14 secondary schools in Uganda’s capital Kampala and Mbale, a town in the eastern region of Uganda. In 2018 and 2019, two cohorts of student teachers were successfully trained with the STEP curriculum for student teachers and conducted the STEP Training at the local secondary schools. Both the short- and long-term evaluations showed significant positive effects of the training at the secondary school level, as well as for the student teachers. The results showed that the STEP Training can be adapted to train large cohorts of teachers that are in turn able to successfully conduct the STEP Training without supervision.