“Hub” organisations in Kenya: What are they? What do they do? And what is their potential?

From Senegal to Tanzania, and South Africa to Egypt, over the last decade “hub” organisations have proliferated across the African continent. Whilst this rapid growth has been accompanied by increasing academic interest, to date, works examining this phenomenon and this new dynamic organisational form remain limited. This study aims to contribute towards addressing this gap by examining hub organisations in Kenya. More specifically, and drawing upon in-depth qualitative case study research with three hubs, it examines: the nature of hubs in Kenya, what they are; unpacks what they do, and especially the role of hubs as intermediaries; and evaluates the potential of hubs, including as promoters of entrepreneurship, innovation and wider positive social change in Kenya. This research identifies the multiple hybridities of hub organisations in Kenya. It finds that they perform an intermediary role working institutional voids. Finally, both potential and limitations of hubs are identified. This research contributes to hitherto limited work on hubs, especially in Africa, and theorises hubs as hybrid intermediary organisations. It also showcases Africa as an important but still understudied context for management scholarship.