Dr Samuel Mwaura

Lecturer

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

Contact

Personal statement

Dr Samuel Mwaura is lecturer of entrepreneurship at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde Business School. His main research interest is on the links between entrepreneurship, individual and household wellbeing, and the wider socio-economic context. Samuel is also very passionate about knowledge exchange and societal impact from his research.

Samuel’s recent work has focused on entrepreneurial ecosystems,  entrepreneurial participataion rates and performance especially amongst ethnic minorities, migrants and women and in the regions, SME financing, innovation and its impact on productivity, the link between entrepreneurship and household wellbeing (including household wealth), and entrepreneurship and firm performance in developing country contexts. 

Besides contributing to the academic discourse through international conferences and publications, Samuel’s research has been disseminated to various enterprise practitioners, policy-makers and the general public in the UK and beyond through consultancy reports, practioner talks and workshops, policy hackathons, mass media and social media.

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Area of Expertise

Through my research, I have gained expertise in the following areas:

  • Entrepreneurial ecosystems
  • Regional enterprise and economic development policy
  • Evaluation of SME performance and growth
  • Enterprise finance
  • Diversity (intersectionality) and entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurship and household economic wellbeing
  • Innovation and it's impact on firm performance
  • Entrepreneurship in developing countries
  • Cultural and creative industries
  • Social capital, networks, and industrial clusters

Methodologically, I have expertise using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. I have used large datasets as well as designed and conducted surveys in my research. Analytically, I use various multi-variate regression techniques as well as GIS mapping. Qualitatively, I have also carried out and analysed in-depth interviews.

My research has generally been multi-disciplinary, collaborative (including with policymakers), and geared towards generating practical implications and impact on business practice and public policy. I therefore have experience interacting resourcefully with academic colleagues from other disciplines as well as policy-makers and the business community leading to informed changes in policy (e.g. regional development policy) and business strategy and practice. In addition, participation in a variety of public engagement events has allowed me to gain expertise in adaptable knowledge dissemination techniques, including radio and TV interviews.

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Research Interests

I welcome opportunies for research collaboration and PhD supervision in the following broad areas that I have both qualitative and quantitative methodological expertise in:

  • Enterprise/ SME Finance
  • Inclusive Entrepreneurship (Diversity, minority, women's entrepreneurship)
  • Innovation
  • SME performance/ growth
  • Link between entrepreneurship and households
  • Entrepreneurial ecosystems
  • SME Clusters and local/ regional economic development policy
  • Entrepreneurship in developing country contexts

Professional Activities

FDI/ trade policy roundtable
Participant
11/2022
Understanding Scotland: public perceptions of the economy
Speaker
30/8/2022
Youth enterprise and university ecosystems
Speaker
6/2022
When all else is not equal: gender, ethnicity and the journey to loan financing
Speaker
4/2022
How Scotland can encourage more diversity in entrepreneurs
Speaker
21/10/2021
Young Migrant Entrepreneurs Multiplier Event
Speaker
22/4/2021

More professional activities

Projects

Coronavirus and the financing of ethnic minority entrepreneurship in the UK - RSE Covid Research Reboot
Mwaura, Samuel (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2021
Current Barriers to Business Growth in the South of Scotland
Mwaura, Samuel (Principal Investigator)
22-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2021
Barriers to business growth in the South of Scotland
Levie, Jonathan (Principal Investigator) Mwaura, Samuel (Co-investigator) Sahasranamam, Sreevas (Co-investigator)
15-Jan-2018 - 31-Jan-2019
Migrant Entrepreneurship in Scotland
Mwaura, Samuel (Principal Investigator) Drakopoulou Dodd, Sarah (Co-investigator) Lassalle, Paul (Co-investigator) Levie, Jonathan (Co-investigator) Stoyanov, Stoyan (Co-investigator)
27-Jan-2018 - 30-Jan-2018
CDT Entrepreneurship & Innovation (SE)
Mwaura, Samuel (Principal Investigator)
26-Jan-2018 - 26-Jan-2021
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem ? Benchmark Research
Levie, Jonathan (Principal Investigator) Mwaura, Samuel (Co-investigator) Sahasranamam, Sreevas (Co-investigator)
05-Jan-2018 - 31-Jan-2018

More projects

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Contact

Dr Samuel Mwaura
Lecturer
Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

Email: samuel.mwaura@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4848