Kabarak University welcomed a team of assessors from the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), led by Dr. Mary Wandia, for a two-day physical assessment on Monday, 28th and Tuesday, 29th October 2025. This visit was part of the preparations for the upcoming 2025 Company of the Year Awards (COYA), scheduled for next month. The team was received by Prof. Ronald Chepkilot, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration & Finance), on behalf of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Henry Kiplangat, who is currently representing Kabarak University at the 2025 Jiangsu International Exchange Week in China.
During the two-day assessment, the KIM team visited various departments within the University and assessed evidence related to the seven key determinants of the COYA Organizational Performance Index (OPI) framework. These determinants include: Leadership and Management, Human Resource Focus, Customer Orientation and Marketing, Financial Management, Innovation, Information Technology and Knowledge Management, Corporate Citizenship and Environment, and Productivity and Quality. Kabarak University’s trained COYA Awards Champions guided the assessors through the University's OPI philosophy, principles, and internal processes, demonstrating the University's commitment to continuous improvement.
This visit comes just days after Kabarak University swept the top accolades at the prestigious Kenya Quality Awards (KQA) 2025 Gala Dinner, held on Friday, October 24, 2025. The University was crowned the Company of the Year (Large Enterprises) Overall Winner, the highest and most coveted award bestowed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). In addition, the University also clinched the Service of the Year (Private – Large Enterprises) Overall Winner title.
The Kenya Institute of Management’s COYA Awards have been running for 18 years, recognising organisations that embrace the OPI Business Excellence framework. This prestigious event also includes the SME of the Year Awards (SMOYA), aimed at empowering small and medium enterprises to grow into larger corporates that contribute to national economic development. The OPI objectives focus on enabling leadership teams to drive continuous improvement, providing industry benchmarks, facilitating the sharing of best practices, and empowering organisations to compete globally while influencing sectoral development.
