The Graduate School of Business (GSB) has joined forces with the Kenya School of Professional Studies (KSPS) in Nairobi to launch a programme of GSB executive courses in Kenya over the coming months.

GSB director Professor Frank Horwitz said the school was upbeat about the initiative.

"We know we can learn a lot from the KSPS, together developing human talent as well as the potential of the continent's managers and professionals."

Kenya and South Africa are important economies in Africa. Both countries face similar challenges, such as skills development, building sustainable organisations, global competitiveness and leadership development.

According to Bruce MacDonald, who is coordinating the new initiative for the GSB, the market for the courses comes mainly from the corporate sector in the east African region. There are few such courses on offer by local institutions in the area.

"The initiative will give people here access to high-calibre executive short courses, close to home, and with little disruption to their work and family responsibilities," he added.

The initiative will also benefit the GSB.

"It provides a wonderful shop window in east Africa for the school," MacDonald continued. "It will serve as a base for attracting individuals in the region to our MBA programme and other GSB courses, such as the Programme for Management Development (PDM). There is a lot of interest in our programmes and this is evident in the fact that 40% of the current PDM class is from other African countries. The initiative is the ideal platform to build on this."