This week Joshua Mwesige (Grow Uganda Country Manager) and I met with Grace Kirabo from the Textile Design Agency (TEXDA) in Kampala, Uganda. They work producing high quality woven fabric as well as providing training in how to tailor. Many of their students go onto run their own businesses.

With Grace we are looking to provide our consultancy services to her clients. The great news is that Grace is going to join Grow Movement as a client herself to help her take TEXDA to the next level. Reviewing our consultant list, I have the ideal volunteer to match her with! Welcome Grace Kirabo, looking forward to working with you. Please take a look at their   website http://www.texdauganda.net/index.html

Martyr Day in Uganda

Tuesday this week  in Kampala was a day of remembrance and consequently a public holiday known as 'Martyrs Day'.  Between 1885 and 1887, 45 young Christian men of different denominations were burnt to death on the order of the Buganda King, Kabaka Mwanga. He believed that the coming of this new religion, and its popularity would over throw his kingdom.

The Grow Ugandan team

People from across Uganda arrive to a town called  Namugongo some 3 hours outside of Kampala to the location where they spend the evening praying. For others that remain at home it is time to spend with family and friends.

An interesting video below!

Claire Jenkins


http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32035:-how-the-uganda-martyrs-passed-canonization-test&catid=34:news&Itemid=114

http://ntvuganda.co.ug/general/counting-down-to-martyrs-day-2014/

The wheels on the bus go....Could an internet bus help drive entrepreneurship in Uganda?

I read with great excitement this week, whilst in Uganda,  that MTN had produced an Internet Bus with WIFI and computer work stations to help promote ICT education in rural communities and reduce the economic gap between countryside and city.


Fantastic idea! Something that would be super for Grow Movement. Internet and phone networks are notoriously inconsistent for our rural entrepreneurs. Those consultants that have clients 'up country', require that additional level of patience to manage the continual problems with not being able to access our clients. This means that the number of business owners we can work with in this area is heavily reduced.

Imagine the impact we could have with a fleet of Grow Movement buses kitted out with computers, headsets and Wifi' effectively connected to our global team of consultants.

Claire Jenkins

Could business consultancy via a local business advisor work?

Eric ready and waiting to talk grow!

A challenge we face in Rwanda is being able to offer our services to a wide audience. Our consultants mainly speak English, French, German, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic. We have very few Kinyarwanda (Rwandese local language) speakers. This means that there is a considerable number of entrepreneurs that we are unable to assist.

Recruiting Kinyarwanda speakers from the Diaspora communities in Canada, UK and the USA has been positive yet we still do not have enough. So in line with our organisational value of 'Continuous Improvement', what could we do to improve?

With the BDF team in Kigali

Eric and I went to visit BDF in Rwanda, the Business Development Fund http://www.bdf.rw/.  BDF Ltd is a new company established to support SMEs in form of on and off farm Credit Guarantee, Lines of Credit, Matching Grants as well as Advisory Services.  

Many of their clients receiving funding are Kinyarwandan speakers only so would be unable to benefit from Grow services. Or could there by a way? Eric and I discussed with Janet and Livingston the possibility of trialling using Grow consultants supporting BDF business advisors as they coach local businesses.

Eric and I liked this idea as not only would we be able to provide support to Kinyarwandan speakers, but also enhance the skills base of business advisors as they start off in their new roles.

What do you think? Can consultancy work via a business advisor who then translates with a local client?

What is missing from Eric in #Rwanda?

1 -2 -1 with Eric in Chez John restaurant

Team Rwanda in Kigali

 Last week I travelled to Rwanda for a few days to see Eric Iyaremye our Grow Country Manager. Not having been since December last year we have only communicated by phone, Skype and email for the last 5 months.


Eric and our intern Grace Marline, came to pick us up from the airport. I spent some time looking at Eric and thinking what is different about you today, trying to work out what had changed. I am used to seeing Eric on a lap top...it was the lap top frame that was missing from my view of him! Skype is an excellent way for companies to stay connected especially charities. However, there is no substitute for face to face meetings.

Our first day together was spent in a 1-2-1 discussing the our strategy for Rwanda, the challenges that he faces in his role and then delivery plans for our exciting new project for 2015!

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What can you do with £125k? Work with 260 entrepreneurs, create 550 new jobs, and improve the lives of 17,500 people

What can you do with £125K, pay for an MBA in London, including living costs for 2 years, a big house deposit, or numerous holidays! At Grow Movement we have done something amazing...we have transformed the business performanc of hundreds of micro entrepreneurs in Uganda, Rwanda and Malawi.

£125K is the full operating costs of Grow Movement since we started at the end of 2009, and has enabled us to work with 260 entrepreneurs through our programme, create 550 new jobs and improve the lives of 17,500 people. Incredible numbers for such a small budget. 

We are able to do this through the hard work and dedication  of our talented local team in Uganda, Joshua and Grace, Sophie and Willie in Malawi, and Eric in Rwanda. Our global team of volunteers who enable us to do this at such low cost  by providing their time, energy and business skills pro bono over Skype and phone.  Big thank you to the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), London Business School, Cass Business School, Imperial Business School, Westminster Business School, and the Management Consultancy Association who work with us to raise awareness of our volunteering opportunity with the member,s students and alumni. 

Welcoming our Community Managers

Since we started with humble beginnings in 2009 with just 10 volunteer consultants we now have a global team of over 300 across all continents with 180 active at anyone time, increasing to 500 for 2014. Feedback from our volunteers has been around wanting to feel a greater part of Grow Movement and to have contact with others in their region for shared learning. Continuous improvement is a key value of Grow, so we have listened and now welcome our regional Community Managers. Their role is to connect with the existing volunteers in their area, build community engagement and offer additional support to our In Country Managers. Their offer their time on a volunteer basis as well as acting as volunteer consultants for Grow. Thank you for your time investment in Grow and our African entrepreneurs. 

Craig Harrison, USA          americas@growmovement.org

Craig is managing the Americas region; including our volunteers in Canada, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and now Panama. He is passionate about making organisations work better. His can-do attitude is informed through experience in research and development, IT and management consulting as well as degrees in science, theology and business.  He has served as a consultant for the Grow Movement since 2011, most recently working with the high end fashion House of Tayo in Rwanda to develop an innovative marketing plan to prepare the company for international expansion. Through a variety of roles with non-profits, both as a board member and volunteer, Craig has actively explored how sound business practices and market approaches can improve the lives of people in developing countries.  He believes that good business is beneficial to society, involves generational thinking, is careful with the environment and leads to a better quality of life.


Janet Curran, UK       europe@growmovement.org

Janet is managing the European volunteer team. She has a background is in training and consulting; she has spent 9 years working for the global sales training consultancy Huthwaite International, researching and teaching effective sales and marketing skills in every continent, so she is well versed in cultural differences. Prior to working at Huthwaite she was self employed and ran a small gym so has hands on experience of the challenges of setting up a small business. She also has a PhD in retail marketing. She was drawn to Grow because of her experience delivering training in Africa and welcomed the opportunity to take up a mentoring and support role as a Community Manager. Janet lives just outside Sheffield in the UK. and when she is not working enjoys spending time with her teenage boys, cycling and walking with her Alaskan malamute dog and taking an active part in her local community.

Gurpreet Singh,  Asia and Australia asia@growmovement.org

Gurpreet has been volunteering with Grow Movement Uganda since 2009. He worked with the Future Learning Center in Kampala; a teaching, publishing and learning center for young people and is now working with Manna Cafe and University Restaurant in Malawi. He has an academic background; running science labs in India, has a PhD in Chemistry and lectures between Mongolia, India and Poland 2009