Abstract

This research was about understanding challenges in managing a business start up. University of Kigali was used as a case study. It is domiciled in Rwanda. It was chosen because it is a recent university establishment and it provided a good source of information for this research. The issue that triggered this study was to understand the virtue of having clear separation of duties in new business start-ups. The findings from this study reveal that 100 percent of the respondents believe that clear separation of roles and clear communication between management, shareholders and Board of directors is vital for new businesses. From the Literature review, it was clear that a firm in its infancy has a lot of risks and it would not be a bad idea for the start for shareholders and Board of directors to give a helping hand in the day to day running of the business until its stabilization. Employees need to know the vision and mission of the business start-up and again, the managing director of a firm needs to work closely with the chairman Board of directors for effective driving of the firm into the right direction. The momentum in growth of University of Kigali is due to respect of the pillar of separation of duties in its hierarchical structure and for allowing a decentralized structure type of management for flourish.