What are Grow’s objectives?

Our objective is very simple – Grow Movement enables people with business experience to share their skills in developing countries from anywhere in the world and in a highly scalable manner. As the help is only advice, it is by definition sustainable, as the business has to acquire the knowledge you give to successfully implement it. On a macro level this helps businesses to innovate, which is one of the most important long-term drivers of economic growth.

How have you identified a need and a demand from businesses and individuals in the developing world?

Addressing skill shortages in the SME sector is linked to international development as this sector is likely to be the most important source of formal employment and economic growth in most developing countries. In identifying this need we reviewed some of the best available research on international development, consulted the professional expertise within our team and had discussions with international NGO’s, the UK Department for International Development, and mentoring and business development charities on the ground. To assess whether there was demand from SME’s for an internet based free consulting service we collaborated with business development agencies in Uganda to run a pilot scheme with 10 businesses and consultants. We found that Grow was able to deliver effective business advice over the phone and internet and subsequently received very strong levels of demand for Grow’s services from SME’s.

How does Grow source the companies in Uganda that they work with?

Violet, our locally based manager, works hard to market Grow on the ground and find businesses who are interested to work together with one of the Grow consultants, through conferences and other networking opportunities. We also receive many referrals through reputable local partner organisations. These partnerships are crucial to the success of Grow and we work hard at building sustainable and strategic relationships. All registered businesses are then required to submit their details for review and to ensure that we can find the right consultant for their needs.

How do you avoid issues of corruption and judge the legitimacy of businesses?

Many of our businesses are referred to us by reputable local partner organisations, which already know the businesses. However, we also require businesses to complete an application form, which we review for suitability. As businesses need to disclose information about their operations to their consultants and since they cannot obtain financial support from Grow, they have limited incentive to apply if they are not legitimate. Ultimately, however, we undertake limited screening of businesses as we wish to keep our cost base low in order to reach as many businesses as possible. We therefore rely on individual Grow Consultants to establish whether they are comfortable working with a particular business and to report to our manager, Violet, should they discover that their business has been involved in illegal activities.

How do you judge the legitimacy of consultants given that you recruit them over the internet?

As with businesses, we require Grow consultants to complete an online application form which we review to assess their suitability for inclusion in the Grow scheme. We require Grow consultants to enter into a legal agreement with Grow Volunteer Consulting that restricts their interaction with businesses to the provision of advice. We then require consultants to complete a probationary period of three sessions before formally including them on the Grow scheme. However, our screening of consultants is ultimately limited as we wish to keep our cost base low to reach as many businesses as possible. We warn businesses about our limited level of screening and they can communicate directly with our manager Violet if there are any issues.

How does Grow’s work fit with the work that other charities on the ground are doing ? Are we diverting support away from these organisations?

We see the work that Grow does as complementary, not competitive, to the work of other charities and volunteers. Because we offer consultants a convenient way to get involved in international development, without too much time commitment, we attract those volunteers who wouldn’t initially commit to an extended period of time working on the ground. We therefore believe this to be a unique opportunity for volunteers. We also aim, where relevant, to support and highlight the work of other charities on the ground. For example, when working with coffee drying business Empire Coffee Dryers the Grow Consultant researched opportunities for his business contact to source new technology through another charity on the ground. We realise that the work we do is not a total solution for the businesses we work with, but we hope that by creating synergies with the work of other charities and by opening up the opportunity for more people across the globe to provide support, we are creating a new channel to help drive the growth of SMEs in Africa.

What sort of input are businesses looking for?

The advice business are looking for varies and we need people with all types of business skills. Businesses request what type of advice they need and our on-the-ground manager, Violet, matches them to the most appropriate consultant. Often, if a business is relatively simple, then consultants with general business experience, whatever their specialism, can add a lot of value. For example, a corporate lawyer in New York successfully improved a coffee dryer’s technique by leveraging his research skills, despite obviously not having specific expertise in this area.

• To learn from the Grow consultant’s specific skill set and apply it to their business, for example using financial modelling to help make an investment decision.
• Sharing ideas about how they conduct business in the Grow consultant’s home country and think strategically
• Helping the SME to analyse their strengthes and weaknesses and review or develop business plans
• Researching new business ideas or technologies and helping the SME to implement them. These could be technologies or practices already used in the SME’s country, but the SME might not be aware of them.

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What’s in it for me as a consultant?

Grow provides people with a strong business background a convenient way of volunteering directly in international development, rather than having to make the larger commitments, such as a career break. Many consultants report the strong sense of satisfaction they gain from being able to apply the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired in a totally different business context and build new relationships. There is also the obvious opportunity to play a part in the long-term development of Africa.

How can I really provide useful advice when I’m not there in person and I’m not familiar with the local environment?

Collaboration is key to the success of all projects. We recommend that all consultants spend a period of 3-5 weeks getting to know the business and environment. After this, you should work closely with your business contact to discuss and work out what will work best in their market. The experience and advice that you are able to provide is always valuable; the key is working together to understand how best to apply it to their situation. You will find that the businesses are generally very good at knowing what will and won't work in the local context.

How much reliance do the businesses place on the advice they are given?

It always takes a bit of time to build up trust and a relationship with your business contact and therefore the reliance businesses place on the advice they are given increases over time. However, it should always be made clear to the business contact that any decisions they make are theirs, and you are purely presenting them with a series of options that depend on the accuracy of the information they have given you.

What happens after the 12 sessions end and how do I know that the advice I’ve given has made an impact or has been implemented?

After you are finished, we will collect feedback from you and your business that we publish on our website. You are welcome to continue with a second Grow assignment with your business or to stay in touch to see how things are progressing. However, Violet, our Manager, also follows up with each business on a 6 monthly basis and you are welcome to contact her to find out the status.

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How will my skills be matched to the business?

Depending on the size and challenges of the business, they are often seeking general business advice, which the majority of our consultants will be qualified to provide. Some cases will be more specialised, in which case and, therefore, a consultant with the appropriate skills will be assigned.

How much time do I need to dedicate to Grow per week?

Each call should last approximately one hour. Outside of this, an additional 2 hours of work is normally necessary to prepare for the call or complete work that you plan to discuss with your contact.

Will it be difficult to communicate with my contact?

We recommend that you call your contact on their mobile as mobiles are more commonly used in Africa and often contacts will not have access to a landline. You may experience problems with the network connection caused by bad weather or the business owner being in an area of poor reception. We have found these can be addressed by rescheduling calls to another time. By persevering and using a combination of phone and email consultants have generally overcome these difficulties. We do not recommend you conduct sessions purely by email though, as this makes it harder to build a relationship with the businesses. You should be aware that there is often a delay in connection when talking but this is something that you quickly learn to adapt to and shouldn’t affect the ease of conversation overall.

How do we set the objective of the project? How do we know what we’re working towards?

Your business contact will have a basic idea of what he/she is looking to achieve from the calls. We then recommend that the first 3-6 calls are spent getting to know the business better, their challenges and aims. Together you should then set and agree the objective(s) for the project and continually chart your progress against this as you go forward.

How do I structure the calls ?

Running a call should be very similar to the way you would manage a meeting with a client or business contact. You should work together to decide what you want to get out of the next discussion in line with the overall direction of the project and set the agenda accordingly. For the initial calls, we suggest that you use traditional business analysis tools, such as SWOT and PEST, to gain an overall understanding of the business and landscape.

Do I have the option to do any ‘on the ground’ consultancy work ?

Grow focuses entirely on remote based consultancy. However, consultants are welcome to continue communication with the business once their consultancy period is finished and potentially arrange their own trip to visit the business. Alternatively, we recommend contacting Skills Venture. Skills Venture is a UK organisation which offers the opportunity to use your business skills in on-the-ground mentoring placements in Kenya.

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