The inaugural Diplomatic Entrepreneurship Forum, held on Friday, September 26, 2025, at Africa Nazarene University (ANU), successfully illuminated the vital intersection of diplomacy, innovation, and global development. Organized by the Hult Prize, ANUMUN in partnership with The Youth Cafe, Yoma, and Adamur, the event gathered students, industry leaders, and policymakers under the theme, "Building Beyond: From Diplomacy to Entrepreneurship." The forum’s consensus was clear: in an increasingly interconnected and complex world, entrepreneurial success demands not just a compelling product but also a keen diplomatic savvy, robust social capital, and the strategic use of decentralised technologies to drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Session 1: Networks That Scale Impact
Collaboration as Acceleration
Malemba Melvin, the speaker for the first session, challenged the audience to redefine the value of their connections, emphatically stating, "Collaboration means acceleration." His talk focused on the crucial role of social capital which is the shared resources and opportunities gained through meaningful relationships, as the true engine of growth for diplomatic entrepreneurs. He stressed that impact is not instantaneous but is powerfully amplified through strong, intentional relationships built on trust.
Melvin urged the participants to abandon transactional networking in favour of genuine connections. He introduced the powerful principle of "give before you ask," advocating for generosity, curiosity, and a fundamentally human approach in every interaction. According to Melvin, this reciprocal approach is what fosters deep, lasting value. He identified membership, partnering, and community as the foundational pillars for building strong social capital that ultimately "open doors to opportunity and ensure execution." The session concluded with a list of recommended resources, including Diary of a CEO, Influenced by Robert B., and podcasts like Maxwell Leadership, Ideas That Matter, and The GaryVee Podcast, to help students sharpen their leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
During the Q&A segment, a pertinent question was raised:
Q: How can students create meaningful connections considering they don't have much experience yet?
Melvin's response emphasized that intentionality, generosity, and leveraging existing academic connections are key. He advised practicing "give before you ask" by offering value first, being genuinely curious in interactions, and utilizing professors, alumni, and university events as initial networking springboards. Building a strong online presence on platforms like LinkedIn and engaging thoughtfully with industry leaders' content was also highlighted as a way to gain visibility and establish credibility even without extensive professional experience.
Session 2: Blockchain for the SDGs
A New Architecture for Trust and Ownership
Jane Wangari’s session positioned Blockchain as a transformative force for achieving the SDGs, defining the technology as "a new way to build, innovate, and finance," founded on the tenets of transparency, decentralization, and ownership. Wangari framed the current global predicament as a crisis of systemic mediocrity, lack of opportunity, and an erosion of trust, proposing Blockchain as a powerful antidote.
She provided practical applications for youth-led ventures to tackle these challenges:
Financial Inclusion: Decentralized systems can prevent "group capture" and expand access to credit for marginalized communities.
Education: Secure, verifiable credential systems can be developed to restore trust in academic and professional qualifications.
Agriculture: Blockchain can be used to improve traceability in food supply chains, ensuring fairer market access and better returns for smallholder farmers.
While highlighting the immense promise of the technology, Wangari also provided a necessary caution: entrepreneurs must understand the risks and engage ethically with existing regulatory frameworks to ensure their impact is both sustainable and responsible.
The subsequent Q&A delved deeper into the technical and practical aspects:
Q: Are there existing frameworks on Blockchain?
Wangari explained that the regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving, often adapting existing legal frameworks like securities law, AML regulations, and consumer protection to digital assets. She cited regional initiatives such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and various national "Startup Acts" as examples of efforts to create legal certainty while fostering innovation in the DLT space.
Q: What are the risks in Blockchain?
Attendees were cautioned about several risks, including regulatory uncertainty due to inconsistent global frameworks, security vulnerabilities stemming from improper key management or smart contract errors, and scalability issues alongside significant energy consumption for public blockchains. Privacy concerns related to the transparent nature of public ledgers were also acknowledged.
Session 3: Youth, Policy, and Action
Navigating the Landscape of Economic Diplomacy
The dynamic panel discussion, featuring legal expert Angima Blair and entrepreneur Eric Mutuku, explored how national policy and international cooperation shape the entrepreneurial journey for young people.
Blair focused on the critical role of national policies, such as startup acts, tax incentives, and grants, in fostering a supportive ecosystem. However, he noted a pervasive gap: these frameworks, despite their good intentions, often remain inaccessible to youth due to complex compliance and high entry barriers. He stressed the need for policy reforms that fundamentally simplify registration processes and provide clear, tailored incentives for young innovators.
Mutuku introduced the compelling concept of "economic diplomacy," arguing that strategic diplomatic relations are not the sole purview of governments but a necessary tool for youth-led ventures to expand markets and forge cross-border partnerships. He pointed to opportunities presented by regional frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) while acknowledging persistent barriers such as regulatory inconsistency and high transaction costs.
Both panellists strongly agreed on the importance of proactive youth engagement in policymaking. Young people, they argued, must actively create space for their voices through student societies, innovation hubs, and entrepreneurial networks, rather than passively waiting for inclusion.
A recurring theme was the strategic alignment of entrepreneurship with the SDGs. Startups were urged to design business models that do more than generate profit; they must simultaneously solve systemic problems like climate change, unemployment, and financial exclusion. The panel called out the disconnect between policymakers and student innovators, suggesting solutions like sustained dialogue platforms, stronger university-industry linkages, and public-private partnerships to nurture and scale youth innovations. The session’s ultimate mandate to the aspiring entrepreneur was simple: Identify problems and pursue solutions, leveraging both policy frameworks and diplomatic opportunities to drive sustainable impact.
The panel addressed key questions from the audience:
Q: How can young entrepreneurs engage in diplomacy?
Mutuku emphasized that young entrepreneurs can practice "economic diplomacy" by actively pursuing cross-border partnerships and joint ventures. He advised leveraging trade frameworks like the AfCFTA, engaging in policy advocacy through youth networks, and recognizing that successful ventures inherently serve as "ambassadors" for their nation's innovation.
Q: How can young entrepreneurs with ideas get capital?
The panelists highlighted the importance of seeking grants and competitions, joining incubators and accelerators for seed funding and mentorship, and eventually approaching Angel Investors once early traction is demonstrated. Participation in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) was also suggested for scaling impactful innovations.
Conclusion and Key Recommendations
The Diplomatic Entrepreneurship Forum successfully underscored the contemporary imperative for young innovators to integrate diplomacy, policy, and innovation into their ventures. Success today requires an ability to build meaningful networks, navigate complex policy landscapes, and strategically leverage technologies like Blockchain for transparency and accountability. The forum served as a crucial platform where knowledge, experience, and vision converged, positioning Africa Nazarene University as a catalyst for a new era of entrepreneurial diplomacy.
To bridge the gaps identified and empower the next generation of diplomatic entrepreneurs, the following Key Recommendations are put forth for all stakeholders, including governments, universities, and private institutions:
Strengthen Policy Access and Reform: Actively simplify regulatory processes, reduce compliance barriers, and create targeted, accessible incentives to make national startup policies genuinely beneficial for youth-led ventures.
Leverage Economic Diplomacy: Encourage and equip youth entrepreneurs to proactively pursue cross-border partnerships and strategically utilize regional frameworks like the AfCFTA to expand their market reach.
Align with the SDGs: Prioritize and promote youth-led ventures whose business models are explicitly designed to address systemic global challenges (e.g., unemployment, climate change) while ensuring they remain financially sustainable.
Bridge Policy-Innovation Gaps: Establish sustained dialogue platforms, foster robust university-industry linkages, and create formal mechanisms for the meaningful participation of youth in policy-making processes.
Invest in Social Capital: Encourage young innovators to view every relationship as a diplomatic opportunity by practicing intentional networking, prioritizing mentorship, and embracing the principle of "give before you ask."
Harness Decentralized Technologies: Provide young entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and knowledge to strategically utilize Blockchain and other emerging technologies to enhance accountability, innovation, and financial inclusion in their business models.
By acting on these recommendations, stakeholders can collectively foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem where young innovators are truly empowered to identify problems, design impactful solutions, and scale their influence globally.