Johannes Bramann

• This dissertation iestigates the evolution of Kenya’s Internet communication technology (ICT) ecosystem and explores the barriers and subsequent enabling processes encountered when growing an ICT ecosystem in a resource-scarce context. Drawing upon 12 in-depth case studies of Kenyan tech entrepreneurs and 45 interviews with technology experts this dissertation provides a holistic perspective on the barriers and enablers that Kenyan technology entrepreneurs encounter across the areas of culture, human capital, finance, policy, entrepreneurial support systems, and markets. Together with relevant theory on how ecosystems emerge and advance the thesis develops a model that explains how ICT ecosystems can emerge in resource-scarce contexts. The model shows how locally available enabling processes may be drawn on to substitute and establish missing condition factors. Furthermore, this dissertation analyzes mobile technology's potential to tackle unemployment in Kenya and provides a critical evaluation of the embedded economic and developmental opportunity.