Launch of new company that enables business people to help beat poverty

Recognising an opportunity for business to help beat poverty in Kenya, Skills Venture offers business people with at least five years of experience the chance to support Kenyan entrepreneurs who need mentoring and skills support in areas such as accounting or marketing.

Recent unrest has brought many small businesses in Kenya to the brink of failure. The country is now calmer, but the need for business support is greater than ever, and economic growth will be critical in securing Kenya’s future. Based on their own experience and on the strong global consensus that economic growth is crucial to bringing people out of poverty [1], founders Rob Breare and Will Snell decided to leave their corporate jobs to set up Skills Venture.

One in four workers are looking for activities that make a difference [2]. But few volunteering organisations recognise that people with years of business experience have more to offer than the average 18-year-old on a gap year. Many provide volunteering opportunities in Africa, but fewer than one in ten allow people to use their work skills to good effect [3]. Even these tend to focus on sharing generic organisational skills with charities rather than on supporting businesses with much needed commercial expertise. Doctors and engineers can use their skills, so why not business people? It is frustrating not to be able to realise your potential to help.

“Evidence indicates that 37% of people want to use their business skills to help [4]. And yet few organisations enable employees to do this. Why send a tax specialist to paint a school, a typical example of volunteering? And why the belief that it takes months to achieve anything? We think it is possible to make a difference in just one day”, said Rob Breare, co-founder of Skills Venture.

Skills Venture works by pairing each international client with a range of local entrepreneurs who are seen on an individual basis. Visitors provide practical, one-to-one support; there is no classroom teaching or theoretical models. Many Kenyan entrepreneurs simply need help developing their own ideas, and don’t want complex recommendations based on mountains of data.

Skills Venture also believes that its clients should enjoy their living conditions, so that they can focus on the job rather than on providing for themselves. “It is the skills sharing that makes the difference and this is where we put the emphasis. Of course, if you work hard, you also need time to relax and energise yourself,” said Will Snell, co-founder of Skills Venture.

Business people are matched with several Kenyan entrepreneurs by our team of local business experts, who are on hand 24/7 to provide support.

Joseph Njeru, a Kenyan entrepreneur, started the Mount Kenya Yoghurt Company from his home, selling cups of yoghurt from jerry cans for 5p each. His family has had to leave their home to make space for the production of 4,000 bottles of yoghurt a day. He buys milk from 200 local farmers; their income supports more than 1,000 family members. Yet Joseph struggles to write the business plans expected by the banks to raise capital for further growth. Support from an experienced UK business person can make this possible, directly benefiting up to another 1,000 people.

Michael Hay, Professor of Management Practice in Entrepreneurship at the London Business School, said, “Skills Venture is an excellent initiative with real potential to make a difference to Kenyan business and thus to poverty reduction, as well as being a learning opportunity for visitors.”

Skills Venture’s unique and tailored assignments are available from spring 2008. Enquiries are welcome from both individuals and employers on our website at www.skillsventure.com.

Skills Venture. Inspiring people. Growing business.

NOTES

Skills Venture’s directors, Rob Breare and Will Snell, have 10 years of experience running a charity in Kenya (www.hsk.org.uk) and 14 years of combined experience in the private and public sectors, respectively as brand manager for P&G and working on terrorism, the G8 and Iraq; biographies at www.skillsventure.com.

Assignments start at £899 ($1799 / €1199) for 5 days. This covers the setting up of consultancy sessions, inductions before and after arrival, travel within Kenya, work permits and 24/7 support from our Kenyan facilitators. Additionally Skills Venture can organise flights, insurance, accommodation and food at cost prices, depending on the tailored package requested. We are perfectly located for those who wish to take a safari holiday either before or after their assignment.

For more information please contact the directors in the UK:

Rob Breare
+44 (0)20 7871 4439
+44 (0)7527 051813
rob.breare@skillsventure.com

Will Snell
+44 (0)20 7871 4485
+44 (0)7527 051809
will.snell@skillsventure.com

Callers from the USA can also call our US toll-free number: 866-837-6684.

[1] China lifted 400 million of its people from subsistence in this way in just 20 years. Source: World Bank, 2005.
[2] Source: Norwich Union survey, 2007. In addition, the CBI has found that the number of people in the UK who take time out from work has doubled since 2004, to more than 100,000 in the UK every year.
[3] Source: Skills Venture research of 61 leading providers of volunteering placements in Africa, 2008.
[4] Source: VSO survey, 2005.