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Aberdeen business advisors back start-ups in Kenya

Mama Humphrey keeps her cow Bonnie mainly for milk sales and a small amount for consumption.
Mama Humphrey keeps her cow Bonnie mainly for milk sales and a small amount for consumption.

An Aberdeen advisory firm that helps north-east businesses to grow has backed a charity initiative to support start-ups in Kenya.

The Alternative Board (TAB) has decided to back the Gathimba Edwards Foundation’s (GEF) Two Feet Initiative which enables families to plan, start and run their own businesses.

TAB is the headline sponsor of this initiative which has so far enabled 40 business start-ups across 13 regions of Kenya including hair salons, horticulture and dairy farming, retail shops and cafes.

Mama Gikero was given the tools and seeds to start a coffee-growing business in October 2020.

Following a thorough assessment of set-up costs, viability and sustainability, the Foundation provides part loan/part grant funding to each business.

A loan payback agreement is decided, and the return of money is reinvested into future businesses for other families.

Mentor

Each business is allocated a business mentor who guides them with procurement and is actively involved through the monthly review process.

TAB in the Aberdeen area is led by Helen Mill, former director of commercial innovation during a 16-year period at Robert Gordon University, and Jonathan Smith, a former executive with a global energy firm and a winner of the Inspirational Mentor of the Year at the 2019 Elevator Awards.

Entrepreneurs

Helen Mill, owner and board facilitator at TAB in Scotland, said: “Supporting entrepreneurs is at the heart of what we do at The Alternative Board, but for me it goes even further back. I have, in my working life, supported solo inventors and spinout technologies from university research.

“I know that starting a business is not easy but can enrich lives, not just financially but spiritually.

Changing lives

“I believe that the support offered through the Two Feet Initiative has the potential to change lives for the better.”

Myles Edwards, co-founder of Gathimba Edwards Foundation, said: “We are incredibly grateful to The Alternative Board for this fantastic support.

Myles Edwards, co-founder of the Gathimba Edwards Foundation, and Helen Mill, owner and facilitator at The Alternative Board in Scotland.

“With the businesses in Kenya more than 500 miles apart, our team work tirelessly to support the families to achieve success, self-sufficiency and independence.

“Naturally, running and logistical costs are occurred with the regular mentoring and monitoring nature of the programme and so the TAB support will enable us to run the programme with maximum effectiveness.”

Bonnie Wee Shop

Previous beneficiaries of the Foundation include the Bonnie Wee Shop, which was funded by Aberdeen-based business Bonnie Wee Golf.

Bonnie Wee Shop is a small grocery shop run by Mary Nafula (known as Mama Viki) in Iten, Kenya.

Victor (known as Viki) Ewoi and his mother, Mary Nafula (known as Mama Viki) set up the Bonnie Wee Shop as part of the Gathimba Edwards Foundation’s Two Feet Initiative.

The shop, which was built on to the side of her house by local workers in Kenya, has enabled her to run some farming projects where she is successfully growing maize, spinach, passion fruit, cabbage and other fruits and vegetables for sale and consumption.

The income she generates from the shop has enabled her to put food on the table, something which was not always possible.

Gathimba Edwards Foundation was officially established in May 2014 by Gideon Gathimba and Myles Edwards.

Chance meeting

The pair met while running in a one-mile event for the opening of the Aberdeen Sports Village in 2009.

TAB has 12 boards across Scotland, five in the north-east, three in Glasgow and four in the Edinburgh area.

The combined turnover of companies on Scottish TAB boards is £75million.

TAB boards meet monthly with support from a TAB facilitator. Each TAB board comprises up to six business owners, directors or decision-makers at companies. The boards provide a trusted space for experienced entrepreneurs to share experience and knowledge.

Baba Winfred’s business got a boost from the Gathimba Edwards Foundation in January 2021.

Success stories

Mama Humphrey

Her business started in December 2019. She keeps a cow for milk sales and keeps a small amount for milk consumption.

With the guidance of the GEF team, she has cared for her cow, which she calls Bonnie, very well and plans to welcome calves from Bonnie in the near future to grow the business.

She has five children. Thanks to the support of GEF child sponsorship and her business, one of her children recently graduated from university in Accounting and the others are in full-time education.

Mama Gikero

This business started in October 2020 when Mama Gikero was given the tools and seeds to start a coffee-growing business.

Last November she sold her first season of coffee cherries to a factory; selling 324kgs in weight which was a successful season.

Last month the GEF team met her while picking coffee cherries and 99% of her 150 coffee trees were ripe.

She is confident that this season plus December season will be able to double or triple her production.

She is a great role model who works extremely hard. She has three children and her son James recently completed secondary school.

Baba Winfred

The Gathimba Edwards Foundation boosted this business in January 2021 and before this Baba Winfred was struggling to afford the items which he knew would be in high demand if he had them in stock.

Since then the business has gone from strength to strength and has grown steadily. He told the GEF team recently, thanks to the business support he is not struggling nowadays and life has been easier for them.

He has a wife and two children he supports.

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