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Jeremy Roebuck; Grow Movement

Jeremy Roebuck on Skype with Grow Movement Rwanda Country Manager Eric Iyaremye

Jeremy Roebuck on Skype with Grow Movement Rwanda Country Manager Eric Iyaremye

By Jeremy Roebuck, OU MBA Alumnus

With the New Year in full swing, many of us are looking to do something different. For some it's a personal matter, like a change of diet, getting more exercise or the promise to quit smoking. For others it might be to go somewhere new, build a skill, or to even utilise an existing qualifications on another path.

Two years ago, it was this latter desire that started me on the journey to become volunteer Country Support Manager for Grow Movement, a charity which helps business professionals to have a direct impact on African communities without leaving their offices. Founded in 2009, Grow Movement aims to unlock the potential of entrepreneurs in Uganda, Rwanda and Malawi by matching them with volunteer business professionals. Together they work for six months over Skype, email and telephone, identifying ways to improve the business, increase profitably and create new jobs.

Over 500 entrepreneurs have already gone through our programme, on average increasing profit by 25% and employing two additional staff. Recently, we teamed serial entrepreneur and dedicated Arsenal fan Welu Mkambeni (pictured with Grow Movement CEO Claire Jenkins) in Malawi with Andrew Field, a London-based financial analyst with an MBA from London Business School. After identifying challenges to Welu's business during their first Skype meeting, Andrew focused on helping to build Welu's record-keeping and customer care skills. They concentrated on keeping simple records of sales, wages and costs to help track the profits of Welu's food store. Welu was also encouraged to ask his customers what kind of products they wanted, helping him to identify market gaps his business could utilise. As a result of Andrew's support & advice, Welu's profits have increased 65% and he has been able to hire 5 new staff. Welu also used his new financial management skills to set up Bright Beginning Nursery which provides classes and childcare in his village.

All OU MBA alumni have the academic qualifications to help entrepreneurs like Welu to build businesses that have a positive, lasting impact on communities and economies in Africa. What's more, volunteering with Grow Movement can provide exciting opportunities for business professionals to work in sectors or areas of business which they would otherwise not be exposed to in their day jobs. And all it takes is a couple of hours on Skype each week.

My MBA changed my life in so many ways, now I’m using some of the skills I learned to help others. If you are looking for a new challenge this year, I would love to hear from you via email..

For more information, contact details and how to apply, visit the Grow Movement website.