Super Quality Agro Buluma Sauce
Case Studies – suppliers
George Musuga, 38
Entrepreneur
George worked at a slaughter-house as a supervisor and manager for six years before wanting to discover who he was. He wanted to become an entrepreneur, to do something for his wife and four children and make a path for their future. Running his own business was the only way to do this for his family and his life. George makes a groundnut and fish sauce. He purchases the raw material from wholesale suppliers and rents a machine in the local market to grind and mix the paste. He then packages the product and sells it to family and friends in the local area as well as to local supermarkets and restaurants.
Sean Clancy, 56
Consultant
Interim Procurement Director based in Milton Keynes, Sean advises clients how to buy products and services better, working for SMEs and Large Conglomerates mainly but not exclusively in the private sector. He is a member of the ILM and CIPS. “I saw the Grow Movement CEO present at a networking event in London. I wanted to share my experience with those looking to build businesses and the fact it was in the developing world made it all the better for me.”
Business challenges and objectives of the project
George had a basic idea about a new cooking sauce to solve a community problem. Parents do not feed their children fish as it contains bones, his idea was to produce a product containing fish that was boneless. “I met Mr Sean in the midst of working out my idea. My idea was not clear. I didn’t know how to do innovation. I discovered a lot. I needed help with challenges. ”Sean and George focused on recipe development, ensuring consistency of manufacturing, how to prioritise business activity, obtaining customer feedback and understanding that not everything will go perfectly first time and to have a Plan B when Plan A does not work. “With Sean I carried out a lot of assignments. Each week I had to give Sean a progress report. He made me carry out a market survey on what customers liked about my product and also a competition survey so I knew what other products were like mine and what price they went for.”
The Results
George has created two new jobs for machine operators and seen a 40% increase in profits
The Impact on George
“I found the courage that I had from Sean, he motivated me to help others. What Sean taught me I can teach to other people. No none can take my skills away from me. I am now fully self-employed and able to pay school fees for my children. I now supply three shops, one restaurant and many family and friends in the area. Sean was so much – a teacher, a parent, friend, guardian, a very experienced man. He gave me courage.”
The Impact on Sean
“The sense of making a difference and the delight in seeing a person grow in front of your eyes. I was lucky in George. I have always found the most rewarding activity in my career is helping others to fulfill their potential. Grow provided me with the opportunity to mentor a fantastic individual and I found it one of the more stimulating business activities I have undertaken over the last 10 years. George’s enthusiasm, optimism and willingness to learn was an example to me certainly and the majority of the western world in general.”
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