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Value Chain Relationships

By Ellen Pryde

From the small back office at Mukwa Lodge, I have spent my days watching the staff attend politely to the guests in the picturesque restaurant courtyard. It’s easy to see the value that the business creates for its customers.

The company I’ve been placed in for three months is known for supplying luxury accommodation and high-quality restaurant meals to businesses, tourists and NGO clients both within Zambia and internationally. It’s interesting to find out the value chain relationship from the other side; what benefit is Mukwa Lodge having on its locally based staff, the suppliers of their fresh produce and the environment.

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When you first arrive at the lodge you can’t help but admire the multitude of beautiful artwork displayed throughout the premises. Mr. Patel, the owner of Mukwa, proudly informed me that every piece of artwork here is from Zambia. Bought in the capital Lusaka and brought to the Copperbelt to be displayed, the collection of this artwork has helped the local artists of Zambia to continue their difficult trade. In addition, it shows incoming guests the potential that Zambian people have to immortalise their heritage and history in a valuable and artistic way.

Employment

In a country with a high unemployment rate, the lodge is trying along with many other businesses in Kitwe to reduce this growing problem. All of the staff is employed from the local area, apart from a couple of friendly Nepalese chefs and a Scandinavian manageress. With a new lodge being built across the road by local building traders, soon they will be able to employ even more local people in desperate need of a job; a trend they hope to continue as their company grows into new establishments across the country.

Locally sourced produce

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The lodge’s restaurant is known for serving the best Indian food in the whole city. Why is it so good? Well apart from the fantastic chefs, the answer lies in the locally bought produce. Once or twice a week Mr. Niure from the kitchen will head down to Chisokone market in the centre of Kitwe and buy fresh fruit and veg to incorporate into the much sought after Indian and Portuguese dishes available. The vendors in the market, in turn, get the produce from nearby farmers in the area. Mukwa even home-grow some produce at another nearby guesthouse. Not only is this way of buying from suppliers better for their carbon footprint, it’s helping grow the local economy grow and keeps the suppliers in business. Buying locally is a positive step to ensure the community is flourishing rather than crippling to larger, wealthier corporations.

Renewable Energy

Finally, the newest vision of Mukwa’s value chain lies in renewable energy. At present Kitwe and Zambia are experiencing load shedding (For more information regarding “load shedding” read previous Challenges Worldwide volunteer, Ed Lowe’s blog “holding-back-businesses-load-shedding-stopping-zambias-development”) on a daily basis. The lodge currently has to tackle this problem by using diesel generators to keep the power running: a process that is not healthy for the business or the environment. But across the road builders are hard at work finishing the new addition to the business, a lodge that will not only bring in more business and jobs but will rely on their solar geysers and panels to help heat and power the lodge, no matter what the energy situation and at little cost to the already damaged climate.

Hopefully, Mukwa Lodge can be a leading role model in creating a prosperous, sustainable Zambia in the near future.

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Holding Back Businesses: Load Shedding Stopping Zambia’s Development | Edward Lowe

 As Storm Katie caused havoc across England, headlines shout of the disastrous results of the powerful winds. The BBC reported that more than 200,000 homes were without power at the height of the storm, and 27,000 were still without access to electricity the next day.

It is impossible to not draw the connection to load-shedding and poor access to electricity whilst living in Lusaka. Eight-hour outages of power per day are driven by not enough supply to meet the exploding demand, disrupting personal, professional and social lives of all its inhabitants. This is without considering the 96% of the rural population that have no access to grid power at all.
Of all the impacts, perhaps the least discussed within the Zambian media is the effect on small and medium sized businesses. For Lusakan entrepreneurs, the constant struggle for electricity and the disastrous effect on their business is usually accepted with a shrug of the shoulders, powerless to impact the government-owned supplier ZESCO who operate the grid. But the impacts on their business are huge.
The effects are many. Productivity falls as employees lack the basic access to computers and internet for large proportions of the day. This reduces the speed of work, confines the hours that can be worked in daylight, and limits the complexity of tasks that can be completed to those needing only paper and pen. Combine this with the inability to run machinery, and manufacturing methods are reduced to pre-industrial revolution levels of productivity. Meanwhile the cost of employment remains the same, making it harder for businesses to afford new employers; contributing to Zambia’s burgeoning unemployment problem.
There are solutions to ensure electricity reaches the office. The most common solution is the purchase of a generator, which can be used when the grid power goes off. But the cost of the generator is often prohibitive to new emerging businesses, for whom capital is a problem anyway. Once the generator is installed, the cost of petrol (which has more than doubled in the past 12 months) also makes it costly to run. This puts new business at a big disadvantage compared to bigger incumbents, reducing competition in the capital. To further compound the problem, load-shedding can be notoriously unpredictable.

Although ZESCO schedules for a certain time each day, this eight hour period changes and guidelines should be treated as tentative at best. This unpredictability further hinders the ability of businesses to plan, creating uncertainty that undermines their solid foundations. A more organised and better plan for outages would provide huge improvements, albeit not solve the problem outright.

We treat reliable power as a basic necessity of doing business in the United Kingdom, and something which should be expected. This is why headlines after storms are so attention grabbing. To kick-start its private sector and have a new offspring of exciting businesses in a range of fields, Zambia needs to find a solution to load-shedding. Otherwise its development will be severely stunted, and the leash will remain firmly on the country’s growth prospects.

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Lessons Learned from a Team Leader| Natasha Porter

“So what exactly will you be doing in Africa and what precisely does a team leader do?” These are questions that I have been asked many times before, during and after my placement.  It’s also a question that I asked myself a lot before I boarded my flight to Lusaka, Zambia to be a team leader with Challenges Worldwide.

I knew I wanted to volunteer abroad whilst building leadership skills that would be useful to my learning and development as a consultant.  After some intensive googling I came across Challenges Worldwide and thought it was a perfect match.  Challenges Worldwide is a pioneering social enterprise that offers volunteers the opportunity to work with small to medium sized enterprises on 12 weeks placements.  It was everything I was looking for in a volunteer placement; building upon my consultancy experience to lead a team to deliver sustainable changes.  As I excitedly submitted my application little did I know the adventure I had just signed up to?

Challenges

Being a team leader is both incredibly challenging and rewarding.  One of the main challenges I faced was adapting my management and training style to the different personalities, experiences and cultures.  This was especially true for delivering the weekly Chartered Management Institute (CMI) learning sessions.  These sessions were an excellent opportunity for volunteers and team leaders to be trained to an internationally recognised standard on core consultancy skills.  However, as a facilitator it was often challenging to cover the basic business fundamentals whilst keeping those with business experience still engaged.  I learned to link the theory and tools with how I have used these in my job as a consultant.  I also ensured that CMI classes were interactive through group discussions, activities and exercises that combined useful practical learning with vocational training

Successes

As much as we had many challenges, we also had many successes.  One of my proudest moments was watching the Mid Programme Review (MPR) presentations. At the MPR presentations the teams present on their work to date in their enterprises, including their challenges, successes and findings.  To add to the pressure they were presenting to a panel of industry experts including the Department for International Development (DFID) who would ask questions and provide feedback.  As much has the team had prepared and practiced in advance everyone was nervous as presenting to a room of 50 isn’t an easy job, especially to a panel of experts! However there was no need for all the nerves as it was an excellent day and as a team leader it was an amazing opportunity to reflect on the progress and growth of the volunteers.  To see how much they had learned and achieved over such a small period of time was incredibly rewarding.

Development

Through my experience as a team leader I have enhanced and developed many skills that are hugely transferable to my job as a management consultant.  Prior to this placement I would have called myself a good manager, but not a leader.  However, the role as a team leader is essentially a free, intensive, three month leadership training course.  It has taught me so much about leadership and the importance of developing and inspiring.

This experience has also being incredibly rewarding from a cross cultural experience. By living in a host family and having a Zambian counterpart it was an amazing opportunity to be fully immersed in the local cultural and ways of life.  This has helped teach me the importance of cross cultural differences and truly highlighted the needs to be adaptable, flexible and understanding.  Yes, every country has different cultural norms and approaches which can be daunting as well as frustrating – but these differences should be embraced and celebrated. This is an incredibly important skill in today’s interconnected global world.

I equally learned the importance of admitting when you don’t know the answer.  As a team leader you generally do get bombarded with questions from bus routes, exchange rates, supply chain theory to even the chances of rain today (and I am most definitely not a weather woman!).  To be a good team leader you don’t need to know everything – realistically we are still volunteers and we are learning as we go the same as the team. If you don’t know the answer – that is fine – you just need to work through the problems logically and ask for help when you need it.  In a group of 42 there are always going to be other people that can help and support you and that you can learn from.

Potential realised

I still can’t quite believe that my three month placement is over.  It has been one of the most challenging, frustrating, enlightening and rewarding things I have ever done.  When I applied I thought it would be a great opportunity to gain real life leadership experience and enhance my CV whilst experiencing a different culture.  Little did I realise how much I would truly learn and that it would spark new career interests. I plan to continue within consultancy, with much more of a focus on training and learning and development. In working with Challenges Worldwide, I’ve learned that leading and managing volunteers is hard work, but rewarding. I would recommend this programme to anyone wanting to explore their leadership potential while discovering the beauty and diversity of Africa.

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Mas: Action@Home: Beach clean-up and awareness creation on recycling of plastic bottles

It had seemed like the beginning of a fruitful relationship. On May 21, 2016, Environment360, ahaban, 10 RV’s from challenges Worldwide-ICS, the La Dade Kotopon Municipal Assembly Chief Executive (Rita Odoley Sowah) and Honorable Emmanuel Nyarko Baah teamed up to involve the La Dade Kotopon Community people in the beach clean-up and awareness creation on recycling of plastic bottles on the beaches and the launch of the “Baak)” project by the main organizers, Environment360.

“Action at home” – I have never heard a phrase arguably used so many times in almost every document, presentation and meeting throughout my placement with Challenges Worldwide-ICS. When this phrase was repeated at the RV’s meeting, my first thought was “What can I do to make an impact?” While I was convinced that I may probably be volunteering my time and knowledge with a charity agency for my action at home, I nevertheless was anxious for some more specific event or charity agency. Just some few weeks after, that confirmation came through. Glory – an RV on the recent Cycle 7 group posted a beach clean-up organized by Environment360 on the ICV’s Cycle 7 group chat. With no hesitation I responded “I’m keen!”

Everyday I anxiously counted down to May 21st for the action at home at the La beach. I couldn’t wait to meet my colleague RV’s who were also coming for the action at home; Lukman, Nana, Faustina, Baffour, Isaac, Junior, Leticia, Glory – who posted the event and booked our participation with Environment360, and Osmond from Cycle 6. I was incredibly impatient, instead of watching my favorite series, I anticipated the event day and went through google maps just to have a picture of the La beach. A day before the action at home, Glory posted the start time for the clean-up, it was 5:40am. “What?” Lukman posted. That was too early for even the early morning cock, I thought. “Tomorrow is not one of my late days,” said to myself and responded to Glory’s post “I’m Game!” I don’t mind, I encouraged myself.

And so the day passed until May 21st, the day commenced not as usual, getting up so early and dressing by rush light. But this morning I was obliged to dispense with the ceremony of breakfast; it was 5:00am, no time to take breakfast before leaving. After a long hour of sitting in a “trotro”, walking and navigating using google maps I got to the La beach, “There they are, everyone is here already”.

Mas: Action@Home: Beach clean-up and awareness creation on recycling of plastic bottles

After a long presentation by the Honourable Emmanuel Nyarko Baah on the launch of the “Baak)” project on June 3rd ; where community people can collect and dispose of their  plastic bottles at Environment360 disposal sites in exchange for non-perishable food items. In the course of the hour, my colleagues and I were assigned to regular tasks: registering of interested community people, sharing of plastic bags and hand gloves, educating community people on how to pick, clean and crush plastic bottles before putting them into plastic bags.

The time came at last, we all moved to the beach and for over two hours we collected over 50 huge bags of plastic bottles on the La beach. My early excitement turned to disappointment; by mid-day it had become obvious that our beaches are so dirty, we couldn’t clean it all. But a wise man once said, “it’s better to view a cup half full rather than half empty.” So I left with this fulfillment in heart.
Mas: Action@Home: Beach clean-up and awareness creation on recycling of plastic bottles
Of course, I had the opportunity of interviewing Lawrence from “ahaban” – literally meaning “green leaf” in Twi, symbolizing hope – a support  group who also joined in the beach clean-up exercise at the La beach. I basically asked; What they do? How they do it? Why they do it? And if they’ve heard of Challenges Worldwide-ICS?

“…”ahaban” is a help pact, we are here to help. What we do is anywhere support is needed we come to help. Some of the projects we undertake are supporting needy students through payment of fees and anything regarding their education. We also organize awareness programs like this, so anything to support our communities. The benefit we have is helping society. Yes! I’ve heard of Challenges Worldwide-ICS, Nana is actually my cousin. She told me you are trained to help businesses in Accra. I think we need more of such initiatives in Ghana.” – Lawrence

All of us could learn from this example. But it shouldn’t take a common problem like sanitation or recycling to draw people together to make a change. We need to recognize the importance of community, of touching other people, in our daily existence. Our health, our lives, may depend on it.

Cheers!

Mas

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Abel Ofoe-Osabutey, Founder of The Kingzmen GH

Challenges Worldwide are pleased to announce the success of one of our Alumni, Abel Ofoe-Osabutey.

Abel has successfully started a Bamboo Eyewear Business in his home country of Ghana. The Kingzmen Gh was born out of Abel’s undying interest in his sister’s eye defect which she has lived with from childhood.

By age four, Abel’s little sister could hardly open her eyes and struggled to see in the high rays of the sunlight and was deemed to be partially blind. As a result, she had to leave her regular schooling due to her inability to cope with class activities and the negative attention she received for her eye condition.

Inspired by this, Abel Ofoe-Osabutey, was motivated to do something innovative to help support the movement to prevent blindness amongst people living in Ghana, Africa and across the world. In the backseat of a Business class at the University of Ghana Business School, he conceived   the   idea to start an Eyewear Business aimed at solving one of the leading causes of blindness in Ghana and across the world, Cataract. Joining this with his passion to cause change in Ghana through innovative ways of job creation and creating better living standards, The Kingzmen Bamboo Eyewear was conceived.

However Abel didn’t start this business right after conceiving the idea. He wanted some advice from a creative genius in order to know what direction to take his business.

Fortunately, he was paired with a design expert, Izzy Housley during his ICS volunteer period under the supervision of Challenges Worldwide. After bouncing off ideas between each other over the period, Abel set out to begin his entrepreneurial journey.

His vision for the Eco-friendly Sunglasses is to help prevent cataracts one pair of sunglasses at a time while creating sustainable jobs through continuous innovation and cutting edge designs and con- cepts.He also believes in the vast potential of the African continent and seeks to use his brand to inspire individuals to join in exploring and promoting the continent by thinking differently and acting differently.

 

We caught up with Abel to find out how the his Challenges Worldwide placement supported him to start his business.

CW:Hi Abel, Thank you for taking the time to speak to us about your exciting new venture, The Kingzmen GH. Would you be kind enough to share with our readers some of your inspirations and goals for developing your sunglasses range so that we may inspire more young people to follow their dreams?

AO: It is really great to hear from you and it is quite amazing that i get to have a feature with Challenges Worldwide. I hope I will be able to inspire a lot more young people out there.

CW: I understand your inspiration comes from your sisters eye condition. What was your reason for deciding to start an eyewear brand to help tackle this problem?

AO: My main inspiration for starting a business first of all was the reason that I have had a strong urge to be a business owner for a while. So in search of things I was pas- sionate about that I could transform into a business, I decided to focus on my sister’s eye defect and make a business aimed at helping to prevent people from suffering blindness. I did some research around it and discovered that one of the main causes of blindness in Ghana was Cataract and one of the ways to prevent it was by shielding your eyes from the sun. Hence a sunglasses business. Cataract usually occurs in older people in Ghana because they have exposed their eyes to the sun over a long period of time growing up. In my view, its always best to prevent it before it occurs by wearing sunglasses as often as possible.

CW: How did you come up with the design of the glasses?

AO: My challenges team mate, Izzy Housley was very helpful in that area. Whenever I come up with a concept in my mind I tell her about it and using her design expertise, she put together something. Generally, the designs have been inspired by popular sun- glasses we see people wear around just to ensure that they are trendy with our own special touch of difference.

CW: What are the reasons for using Bamboo?

AO:Bamboo was chosen as a result of its strength. In Ghana, it’s used as beams when building storey buildings as a result of its strength and durability. It’s also a plant that grows very quickly compared to wood hence making it a more sustainable eco-friendly source for us. The choice to use bamboo particular came to mind when I read the bam- boo bike story from Kumasi which inspired me to use bamboo for my designs. Its worth adding that, the business I worked with was a family oriented and one of the siblings in the family happened to be involved in a similar idea where she made glasses from wood and sold only to her friends. So seeing her designs also helped bring my bamboo concept into perspective.

CW: Do you think the Challenges Worldwide ICS programme helped you to be able to develop this business?

AO:Challenges was very instrumental in my success because if not for Challenges I may not have met Izzy and I may have been stuck or delayed at a point in my business. She has been quite helpful and am quite grateful for all the things she thought me with regards to design while we were on the programme. She introduced me to some email template platforms for communicating with customers and suppliers which have been quite helpful. Her insight of how to sell via social media in order to build a presence have also been useful in building our page. My knowledge in negotiations from CMI are also helping me to make some contact with retail outlets which seem positive to take on my product.

Finally, what are your long term goals for the business?

Our vision as a brand is to inspire focuses on cataract prevention, one eyewear at a time while creating sustainable jobs through continuous innovation and cutting edge designs and concepts. We also believe in the vast potential of the African continent and seek to inspire individuals to join us in exploring and promoting the African continent using its indigenous products.

You can find out more about The Kingzmen GH

by following them online:

Instagram: @thekingzmengh

https://www.instagram.com/thekingzmengh/

Facebook: The Kingzmen GH

https://www.facebook.com/TheKingsMenGh/?fref=ts

Storefoundry online store:

thekingzmengh.storefoundry.com

Congratulations Abel

We are proud of you

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Ali Gordon
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Ali Gordon: Saltire Scholar and Founder of River Bank Design

June 2014-September 2014

Kampala, Uganda

Why did you choose to apply to Challenges Worldwide for your Saltire placement? What was it about ICS and Challenges which appealed to you?

I was looking to gain business skills in a challenging environment, away from the standard office type job. I was looking for something more adventurous, where my actions may have a greater impact than in a standard internship.

 

When you applied, what did you hope to gain from a Challenges Worldwide placement?

I was looking to gain early stage business experience in growing an SME. I wanted to gain exposure into how to build business plans, keep accounts, market and sell a product/service at grassroots level.

I was seeking to be in an environment that fostered an entrepreneurial spirit working and living with individuals of different cultural backgrounds but with a shared interest for sustainable development of social enterprises.

 

How did you find the pre-departure process, eg fundraising, training, preparations, and the support you received from Challenges and ICS throughout the pre-departure stage?

The pre-departure process was fairly straight forward. Challenges were helpful with vaccinations and there was plenty of support for the fundraising aspects. There was definetly a strong community with the UK mentors before we departed, this started with the two day briefing with CWW in Edinburgh and continued through groups in social media.

 

Can you summarise your placement and how you found living and working in another country and culture? What business did you work in, what was the host experience like, how did you find working with a national counterpart, and what did you learn from these aspects of the programme?

My placement was with Green Heat Ltd (www.greenheatinternational.com) who are biofuel specialists implementing onsite solutions to convert human and agricultural waste into sustainable sources of energy. I acted as a business and engineering consultant, exploring enterprise avenues in developing biogas and briquette production.

Working and living in a foreign non-western culture was extremely exciting. I was motivated throughout the entirety of my programme, largely due to my personnel interest in the companies work and the openness of the company directors Gabriel Okello and Vianney Tumwesige.

Working with a national counterpart had it’s pros and cons. It was a great opportunity to be immersed into their a local community but there were differences in work ethic and academic backgrounds. These difficulties were mostly overcome after the first two weeks by dividing tasks up and setting realistic targets. We went on to become a successful little unit.

 

What was your highlight of your placement?

1) Researching an alternative agro-waste kilning technique and developing a business proposal that would be pitched to the carbon Bureau of Uganda for a carbon trading scheme involving 8 of the largest flower farms in and around Kampala.

2) Visiting the final school a government funded initiative with Green Heat to install 10 fixed dome biogas latrine digesters. Please see the Seed Development Award video below:

What was your biggest challenge during your placement? How did you overcome this and what did you learn from this?

My biggest challenge at the early stages of the placement was ensuring a consistent communication link between myself, my counterpart Rachael and the company directors. I could see from other members on the programme they were completing excellent business/marketing/sales plans but were struggling with their host company to get the key messages across and implement such plans.

I dealt with any potential communication gaps by organising a weekly meeting with my counterpart and company directors every Friday afternoon to do the following:

  • We would collectively work on action plans for the following week and evaluate the work completed of the week just passed. Here we could schedule events, actions, activates and communication links and update on a shared doc. Expamples are shown bellow:
    https://issuu.com/alistairgordon/docs/a.gordon_weekly_action_plans
  • Bring everyone together to present:
    • Research findings (e.g mostly engineering streamlining of production)
    • Enterprise opportunities (e.g potential customers/distribution networks)
    • Development of marketing and business plans
    • Summaries of site visits and meetings

To keep the meetings exciting and motivating we changed the venue most weeks and one of us organised a social event afterwards. Venues and activities included:

  • Macare University – with tour of research facilities
  • The garden of my homestay with meal and pool tournament afterwards
  • Kampala’s Rugby clubs – lively pork barbeques!
  • Shearaton Hotel – swimming pool
  • Chinease resturants – (Gabriel loved Chinese food from studying in Beijing)

These meeting and events created strong ties and were key to my continued working relationship with Green Heat upon returning to the UK.

 

Now that you’ve had time to reflect on your placement, what impact has it had on you and your personal development? Did the placement have an impact or benefit for your business, counterpart and /or host community?

A massive impact no doubt. Personally I gained the experience/confidence to start a business (Riverbank- see below). My counterpart, Rachael gained the marketing experience she was seeking. My host company have grown extensively now employing 40 members of staff full-time and winning numerous contracts including the following:

http://www.securingwaterforfood.org/blog/2015/11/3/securing-water-for-food-announces-awardees-for-third-call-for-innovations

 

  1. What have you been doing since your placement?

Since graduating, I co-founded Riverbank, a creative communications business to improve the outreach of Engineering and Ecology based projects. Our first business proposal was presented by the CEO of Green Heat at the prize giving ceremony for the seed development award in Nairobi, Kenya. Riverbank have been working with Green Heat ever since to enhance the information outreach of their products and services.

Our site is not quite live but a a little more information can be found here:

http://jamienayar.github.io/

When is does go live it shall be here:
www.riverbank-design.co.uk

 

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The complete thing | Accra Communications Committee

Welcome, this is ICS Challenges Worldwide Ghana –Team Accra’s first communications blog post and we want to give you an insight into this unique programme. What do we do? I here you say. Build schools, pet endangered animals or teach English in the middle of some Himalayan village? Sorry, we don’t live up to your stereotypical gap yah activities like I say we’re unique. We empower people, create and implement ideas and most importantly we give people the tools to change their own lives. Pretty cool eh?

We thought you the reader were probably quite bored of reading the same blog post about how they got called Obroni (White Man) or just tried this exotic dish called Red Red. Oh, and those really annoying, eye wateringly beautiful Instagram photos….

Labadi beach

Instead why don’t you just check out the types of business we work with and meet the people whose lives we’re changing (ourselves included).The Businesses from the small to the medium because we only work with Small to Medium Enterprises. Here’s the rest of the communications team to tell you about they’re businesses.

Emmanuel – Seladels food limited

Emman_ICS

“SELADELS FOOD LIMITED is a medium enterprise located in Afienya comm. 25. Their main core business aim is to produce quality and healthy fish and meat locally to meet international standards. They have been operating for 14 years and currently has a staff population of 23. Seladels, have over the years built a great relationships between them and their customers and that has made them currently having a ready market for their products”

Romina – Norte Drinks

Romina_ICS

“I immediately liked her and I hope she felt the same way about us. After our chat about her enterprise, I was truly impressed by her motivation and forward thinking about her business…She graduated the University of Ghana in 2012 and since then she had worked in TV Africa for a few years before realising she wanted something different for her future. That’s why she decided to give it a go and start her own enterprise making drinks. Her flagship product is the popular Ghanian drink called Sobolo”

Toyin – Froyurt 

Toyin_ICS

“When it comes to taste, undoubtedly Froyurt is one of the best yoghurts I’ve personally tasted, however the ladies have contacted Challenges Worldwide in hope to build brand presence and increase market share in Ghana. They one-day hope to compete with already established probiotic brands in Ghana such as Yomi and Goghurt and more importantly, to see Froyhurt sold in big malls such as Melcom and Shoprite. They believe starting with Challenges Worldwide is the right direction to begin achieving these goals!”

Andrew – Finisure

Andrew_ICS

“Most of the production was completed in the back garden of the house, where the four smiley carpenters worked hard as a team. I tried my hardest to speak clearly and not eat my words when introducing myself. My counterpart assured me in confidence that they didn’t understand a word I said. Over the next 10 weeks I hope to give myself some self-taught ‘Scottish mumble’ rehab.”

Rav – … Think I’ll let him explain this one

Rav_ICS

“As my colleagues enjoyed a very exciting first week at work, myself and my counterpart Sam were first stood up on the day we were to begin work, something we both weren’t expecting … I was full of excitement to get started for J-Nissi Enterprise, a business which specialises in hand cut sugar coated ginger chips, and it had only been running for a year and has ‘space issues’ as the enterprise summary crudely put it.”

Jack – M-JAP

Jack_ICS

“M-JAP a small company with huge ambition, dreams of exportation and a revolutionary packaging solution. There’s a lot of potential here but also a lot of recommendations to be implemented but I don’t mind I like the challenge and its satisfying helping such a motivated and enthusiastic business.”

Jay – Team Leader

Jay_ICS

“The ICS programme has a strong set of values. To me the ICS programme stands out from all other aid and development programme. The key areas that make it unique is the use and focus on youth led change and the creation of global citizens through UK volunteers working in pairs with in-country volunteers. In the short time I have been in Accra, Ghana I have seen great bonds being created and cultures shared including both (Ghanaian and UK culture nights). The ICS programme stands for change through the sharing of knowledge and aims to be sustainable where the people supported are then able to support themselves and continue sharing the knowledge further and wider (compare this to giving someone money! A process of development still used by many governments and charitable organizations).”

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On leaving Ghana | Charlotte Roberts

We are finally coming to the end of our colourful, crazy, fantastic, difficult, wonderful programme in Ghana.

The past twelve weeks have brought a huge range of experiences, and I want to reflect on the lessons I will take with me when I return to the UK.

on leaving ghana

1)      I have learned about resilience

Personally, I have been challenged in ways I never anticipated. I knew it would be hot in Ghana, but I had no idea how much the climate would affect me. I knew the food would be new, but I didn’t realise how much I would miss food from the UK. I knew people would live their lives in different ways, and I knew I would have to adapt, but I didn’t know how hard this could be in the context of such a long period.

However, as we reach the end of our stay here, I am sad to be leaving the sunny days. I will miss many of the dishes I have discovered, from plantain and red red (beans), to FanYogo (strawberry frozen yoghurt). I have grown to love our host home, with the mango tree and bougainvillea growing over the compound walls.

I have learned about the importance of positivity and persistence. I have learned to take advice from people who know better, and to approach new situations with an open mind.

 

2)      I have learned about tolerance

When I set off for Ghana, I was boarding a plane with a group of 17 other UK volunteers I barely knew. When I arrived with Ghana, I met another 18 Ghanaian volunteers who were entirely new. I was paired with Francis, my Ghanaian counterpart, and put in a host home with two other volunteers, including Stella with whom I have shared a room for 3 months. Between the UK volunteers we have a broad range of personalities, backgrounds, and experience; with the Ghanaian volunteers, the range is even broader.

IMG-20160424-WA0003Over 3 months, I am so lucky to have been able to spend time with so many interesting people. I am grateful that they have shared their stories with me, and have been fascinated to learn the different ways that they see the world. Ghana has lived up to its reputation for hospitality, and I am hopeful that I have found friends for many years to come.

I have learned about patience. I have learned how important it is to listen. I now know that it is still possible for people who hold fundamentally different opinions to have strong friendships.

 

3)      I have learned about privilege

In Ghana, I have been faced with completely different values, opinions, and lifestyles, and much of this is down to its status as a developing economy. I have seen people living in poverty, without access to clean water or education. I have experienced restrictions in terms of resources like electricity. I have learned about the deep scars left by the slave trade and colonial history, and the suffering which continues as a result of corrupt politicians and exploitation from international corporations.

Here, people tend to eat every part of every animal. People take great care of their possessions, and repair them before replacing them. Children often work alongside their parents to support the household, even when they attend school during the day. Religion is an incredibly strong force, giving believers hope for their futures. People help strangers on the street, and share good fortune with their neighbours.

I have learned about my own privilege. I have learned the importance of using my power as a consumer to support ethical business and fair trade. I have gained perspective on the West’s disposable consumerist culture, and the damage it wreaks on society and the environment.

4)      I have learned about opportunity

A key part of the programme has been our work with businesses. There have been issues in this area which will hopefully be resolved for future cycles, and I have seen a number of businesses from a number of angles, and learning a huge amount about the unique challenges in the Ghanaian market, from poor infrastructure to high utility costs.

IMG-20160424-WA0004However, I have also learned about the opportunities. I have been able to spend time in a business which was set up by a Ghanaian woman from nothing, and which now provides employment and training for women and young people in rural areas. I have worked with an NGO which is single-handedly revolutionising Ghanaian attitudes to recycling. I have seen the huge opportunity which is out there, and the enterprising spirits of many Ghanaian business owners.

I have learned that few things are impossible, and that many things can be achieved with a combination of courage and hard work. I have been inspired by the innovation and strength of people who have found their own path under challenging conditions.

These are not necessarily the lessons I expected to learn from my time on a placement with Challenges Worldwide International Citizen Service (ICS); however, I know how valuable they are, and I will take them with me as I journey home.

Handouts not Handy
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Handouts not so handy? | Secret Adams

The aim of the Challenges Worldwide ICS (International Citizen Service) programme is to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa to expand, in turn improving developing countries’ economies and alleviating poverty. I believe this is the best approach to tackle poverty as teaching people to help themselves will have a sustainable benefit as opposed to giving free handouts, which countries come to rely on.

During my time in Zambia, I have experienced how friendly the people are, enjoyed the slower pace of life and have seen some amazing things, however, I have also seen the extremely negative impact of free handouts given. For example, foreign developed countries send millions of mosquito nets to Africa every year. However, most communities do not actually use mosquito nets to protect themselves from malaria because they do not see malaria as a big deal. Most Zambians I have spoken to compare malaria to having the flu. In 2006 every 1 in 250 people that had malaria actually died. The mosquito nets sent are instead used to catch fish, make wedding dresses and for chicken run fencing. Because there are chemicals on the mosquito nets, using them for fishing is contaminating the natural waters and fish having an extremely adverse effect on the environment and possibly the people consuming the fish.  If the mosquito nets are not being used for their purpose, we need to find a new way of preventing malaria.

Another main issue caused by countries sending free items, such as clothes, shoes and food, is that it is making it impossible for businesses in the country to thrive. There is no need to manufacture these items and, if businesses did, they would never be able to compete with the provision of free products. This is because if businesses were to produce these goods they would obviously incur manufacturing cost. Therefore, would need to price the products accordingly to make a profit in order to keep their businesses operating.

I am not implying that more developed countries should not help less developed countries. People just need to take more care and time to research and analyse what would be the best way to help a country experiencing poverty in the long term. For example, as the mosquito nets being sent are used for fishing, why don’t we create a fish farming programme and pay a business in the country to provide fishery equipment? The programme would not only inject funds into the business providing the equipment but more importantly help entrepreneurial farmers to establish fish businesses and feed their communities. This would be really useful since there is currently a 50,000 mt annual deficit of fish in Zambia alone.

I believe that the main problem is that no one seems to be following up on the use and affect of the free supplies sent, which appears to be a crucial step missing in these foreign charitable deeds.

It would have a hugely positive impact on supporting the further development of the economy if charities thoroughly investigated each countries issues and worked in a coordinated way to develop a coherent strategy based on the evidential information acquired to provide aid where needed that supports sustained economic growth in the medium and long term.

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Challenges Worldwide Presents: The KingzmenGH

We are pleased to announce the success of one of Challenges Worldwide Alumni, Abel Ofoe-Osabutey, who has successfully started a Bamboo eye wear business in his home country of Ghana.

The Kingzmen Gh was born out of his undying interest in his sister’s eye defect which she has lived with from childhood. By age four, Abel’s little sister could hardly open her eyes and struggled to see in the high rays of the sunlight and was deemed to be partially blind. As a result, she had to leave her regular schooling due to her inability to cope with class activities and the negative attention she got for her eye condition.

Inspired by this, Abel Ofoe-Osabutey, was motivated to do something innovative to help support the movement to prevent blindness amongst people living in Ghana, Africa and across the world. In the backseat of a Business class at the University of Ghana Business School, he conceived the idea to start an Eyewear Business aimed at solving one of the leading causes of blindness in Ghana and across the world, Cataract. Joining this with his passion to cause change in Ghana through innovative ways of job creation and creating better living standards, The Kingzmen Bamboo Eyewear was conceived.

Abel however didn’t start this business right after conceiving the idea. He wanted some advice from a creative genius in order to know what direction to take his business. Fortunately, he was paired with a design expert, Izzy Housley during his ICS volunteer period under the supervision of Challenges Worldwide. After bouncing off ideas between each other over the period, Abel set out to begin his entrepreneurial journey.

His vision for the Eco-friendly Sunglasses is to help prevent cataracts one pair of sunglasses at a time while creating sustainable jobs through continuous innovation and cutting edge designs and concepts. He also believes in the vast potential of the African continent and seeks to use his brand to inspire individuals to join in exploring and promoting the continent by thinking differently and acting differently.

We caught up with Abel to find out more about his business and how his Challenges Worldwide ICS placement helped him realise his dreams.

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CW:Hi Abel, Thank you for taking the time to speak to us about your exciting new venture, The Kingzmen GH. Would you be kind enough to share with our readers some of your inspirations and goals for developing your sunglasses range so that we may inspire more young people to follow their dreams?
AO: It is really great to hear from you and it is quite amazing that i get to have a feature with Challenges Worldwide. I hope I will be able to inspire a lot more young people out there.
CW: I understand your inspiration comes from your sisters eye condition. What was your reason for deciding to start an eyewear brand to help tackle this problem?
AO: My main inspiration for starting a business first of all was the reason that I have had a strong urge to be a business owner for a while. So in search of things I was passionate about that I could transform into a business, I decided to focus on my sister’s eye defect and make a business aimed at helping to prevent people from suffering blindness. I did some research around it and discovered that one of the main causes of blindness in Ghana was Cataract and one of the ways to prevent it was by shielding your eyes from the sun. Hence a sunglasses business. Cataract usually occurs in older people in Ghana because they have exposed their eyes to the sun over a long period of time growing up. In my view, its always best to prevent it before it occurs by wearing sunglasses as often as possible.
CW: How did you come up with the design of the glasses?
AO: My challenges team mate, Izzy Housley was very helpful in that area. Whenever I come up with a concept in my mind I tell her about it and using her design expertise, she put together something. Generally, the designs have been inspired by popular sunglasses we see people wear around just to ensure that they are trendy with our own special touch of difference.
CW: What are the reasons for using Bamboo?
AO:Bamboo was chosen as a result of its strength. In Ghana, it’s used as beams when building storey buildings as a result of its strength and durability. It’s also a plant that grows very quickly compared to wood hence making it a more sustainable eco-friendly source for us. The choice to use bamboo particular came to mind when I read the bamboo bike story from Kumasi which inspired me to use bamboo for my designs. Its worth adding that, the business I worked with was a family oriented and one of the siblings in the family happened to be involved in a similar idea where she made glasses from wood and sold only to her friends. So seeing her designs also helped bring my bamboo concept into perspective.
CW: Do you think the Challenges Worldwide ICS programme helped you to be able to develop this business?
AO:Challenges was very instrumental in my success because if not for Challenges I may not have met Izzy and I may have been stuck or delayed at a point in my business. She has been quite helpful and am quite grateful for all the things she thought me with regards to design while we were on the programme. She introduced me to some email template platforms for communicating with customers and suppliers which have been quite helpful. Her insight of how to sell via social media in order to build a presence have also been useful in building our page. My knowledge in negotiations from CMI are also helping me to make some contact with retail outlets which seem positive to take on my product.
CW:Finally, what are your long term goals for the business?
Our vision as a brand is to inspire focuses on cataract prevention, one eyewear at a time while creating sustainable jobs through continuous innovation and cutting edge designs and concepts. We also believe in the vast potential of the African continent and seek to inspire individuals to join us in exploring and promoting the African continent using its indigenous products.

 

Congratulations Abel, We are proud of you.

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