Profile
Auri holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Helsinki in African Studies. She coupled her cultural studies with cross-disciplinary minor studies in Economics, Leadership, Philosophy and Environmental Politics.
PhD research
Auri's research aims to understand the local startup culture in Namibia, South Africa and Zambia as well as the practices that foster it in order to design a model for entrepreneurship ecosystems in Southern Africa. The model will provide actionable insight for policymakers and ecosystem actors to plan and implement entrepreneurship support that suits the local context of Southern Africa.
PhD supervisors
Auri is currently being supervised by Dr Ida Telalbasic from the Institute for Creative Futures and Dr Roy Meriton from the Institute for International Management and Entrepreneurship.
Awards, grants or scholarships received
Auri is the recipient of a grant for full-time studies from the Finnish Foundation for Economic Education.
Interests and activities
Auri enjoys coaching early-stage startups in pitching, as well as in business and product development, using design thinking and Lean Startup methods. She gets a kick out of training entrepreneurship trainers for improved entrepreneurship support.