The Directorate of Capacity Development and Consultancy Services and Kenyatta University (KU- CDCS) submitted a Letter of Interest (LOI) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for possible funding on an Initiative of What Works for Women Economic Empowerment (IWWWEE) in Kenya. The University was shortlisted to submit a full proposal in November 2019.

The proposal writing process, which was interdisciplinary and involved partners outside the University led to submission of a grant proposal in April 2020. Upon evaluation, Kenyatta University won the largest research grant known in the country. The grant of USD 4,000,000 was awarded in September 2020 to establish a Hub on an Initiative of What Works for Women Economic Empowerment (IWWWEE) in Kenya. The Hub that is set for official launch is housed at the Centre for Gender Equity and Empowerment at Kenyatta University.

In other activities, KU-CDCS continued to offer training and consultancy services to both internal and external clients. Some of the consultancy services were offered such as Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kenya Youth Employment Opportunity Project (KYEOP) and Kenya Water Towers Authority (KWTA). Training service was mainly offered to KEMRI. It involved training in Pedagogy and Andragogy with specific reference to “effective teaching for post graduate level students/ teaching skills for educators and setting examinations, and was offered to 22 participants. The training was conducted from 8 th to 10 th September 2020, at the KEMRI Training Hall in Nairobi City County. The KU-CDCS was also contracted by Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (MNTRH) to facilitate the institution’s internal quality auditors training. The training was held at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Mathari campus from 14 th to 18 th September 2020. A total of 22 participants attended the course.

The KU-CDCS continues to cut a niche in conducting top-notch training and research-oriented consultancy services responsive to the highly competitive labour market environment. The Directorate boasts of internal pool of highly skilled, competent, dynamic and results-oriented internationally recognized researchers and trainers supported by a versatile team of staff.