Biography
Iyke Ikegwuonu joined the Adam Smith Business School in February 2019. He has a professional background in Economic Development, having worked for over 15 years across three Scottish Local Authorities in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Falkirk, starting from entry level to senior officer level.
In Edinburgh, Iyke had lead responsibility for Enterprise Development and innovation support activities, maintaining overall oversight of support to local enterprise networks and agencies, and then appointed substantive director of City of Edinburgh Council’s start-up business incubator projects – Creative Exchange, Creative Edinburgh and Interspace Edinburgh. He went on to become Development Coordinator for the West Edinburgh strategic development and infrastructure partnership, working across West Edinburgh, Edinburgh Airport, International Business Gateway and Leith Waterfront developments, working closely with local employers, developers and the investor community to drive forward development of key sites, for long term economic growth.
Iyke left local authority in 2017 to run his own business, Seedgap UK, a social business that facilitates enterprise growth and strategic partnerships between UK-European and African institution partners.
Iyke’s academic background is in business administration and development economics. His bachelor’s degree was earned from Michigan in 2002, while he holds a master’s degree from Glasgow in 2006. During his time in Edinburgh, Iyke was teaching international business at the Edinburgh University Business School, while completing a part-time MRes in social research methods here at the University of Glasgow.
Currently, Iyke works as Lecturer in International Business and Management here at the Adam Smith Business School. He teaches international business and management at undergraduate level, and new venture creation, market analysis, business planning, and quantitative research methods at postgraduate level.
Iyke’s PhD is in International Entrepreneurship and Management at the Glasgow School for Business and Society. His research is investigating how network effect moderates access to finance in early-stage, technology businesses. It has developed from his work in Edinburgh and from research carried out during his master programme.
Iyke has research interest in varied areas, including:
- small business management
- new venture creation
- start-ups
- SME innovation adoption
- entrepreneurial networks
- international entrepreneurship
- international business
- enterprise development
- economic development
- management science, and
- Team-based Learning (TBL).
His expertise is in logistic modelling and survival analysis, as well as innovative qualitative approaches, e.g., SNA and social network mapping.
Before he came to the UK in 2004, Iyke’s previous careers were in football, sales and marketing across Nigeria, Ghana, Norway and Germany. Iyke has recently been appointed director on the board of 5GO Ventures Ltd.
Research interests
Iyke is a member of the School's International Business and Enterprise research cluster.
Areas of expertise:
- International business
- SME
- Internationalisation
- Small business management
- Born Global Business Technology Hubs
- Start-ups
- SME innovation
- Entrepreneurial networks
- Enterprise development
- Economic development
- Management science
- Team-based Learning (TBL)
- Logistic modelling
- Survival analysis
- Innovative qualitative approaches, e.g. SNA
Teaching
- International business
- Introduction to management
- Market analysis for new venture creation
- Business planning
- Quantitative research methods
Additional information
Fletcher, M. , Honeychurch, S. and Ikegwuonu, I. (2021) Using Team-based Learning in an International Business Programme. Using Team-based Learning in an IB Programme, 17 Jun 2021.
