Why should I volunteer?

Make a direct, tangible and sustainable impact.
Create employment, enhance the skills of an entrepreneur
and increase the profitability of a business.

Apply here

I want to…

Help others improve their businesses and livelihoods

Develop my communication and coaching skills

Learn about new business sectors

Be challenged and motivated by a new experience

Connect with like-minded volunteers

What impact will I have?

Grow Movement’s remote coaching methodology was independently tested on 930 entrepreneurs in Uganda by academics from three of the world’s top business schools and found to raise sales by 27.6% on average. You will unlock the potential of an entrepreneur by mentoring and teaching them new business skills. This improves the sustainability of the small business, increasing profitability and creating employment. Many of Grow Movement’s entrepreneurs go on to share their newfound skills with others in their community.

What do I have to commit to?

I will commit to…

Joining your entrepreneur in 5-8 mentoring sessions

Completing the sessions within 3-4 months period

Access to remote communication tools or paying for the cost of calls to a mobile phone

Being patient, determined and flexible with timings

Updating the Grow Movement IT system

What skills
do I need?

I am able to…

Finance: Analyse financial performance and teach concepts of operating costs, pricing and cash flow

Strategy: Review business plans and be confident enough to help expand or improve the business model

Marketing: Assess marketing strategies and teach concepts of customer care, loyalty and competition analysis

Probing: Find out information without overwhelming clients and check their understanding without asking ‘do you understand?’

Language: Speak in an easy simple fashion rather than using ‘consultanese’

Creative problem solving: Be confident in working with limited or no data

Flexibility: Be flexible between different styles including consulting, teaching and coaching in one session

What skills
do I need?

I am able to…

What experience
do I need?

Minimum of five years commercial experience post-graduation

Mentoring, coaching and/ or teaching experience

Experience with improving business performance; gained during running your own business, as a management consultant, mentoring with small businesses, or working in a corporate environment

Professional business qualification (MBA, accountant, lawyer, chartered surveyor etc)

Fluency in English

The sessions are split into stages:

Stage 1: Understanding the business (2-3 sessions)

The first two-three sessions are for you to understand your client and their business. You will need to build a relationship of trust with your client. Try to put them at ease. At the end of these sessions, your client will decide on an area of their business to focus on – this might be marketing, financial management or strategy.

Stage 2: Delivering on a key objective (3-5 sessions)

During the following nine sessions you will work with your client on improving this business area. You may ask your client to complete assignments. Try to speak clearly and ensure that your client understands what they need to do. During this time, you will have a Grow representative who can support you with the project.

Impact Assessment: Evaluating the benefit (6 months after Stage 2 completion)

At the end of 5-8 sessions, you and your client will have delivered a key objective that will improve one area of their business. Six months after the end of the project, Grow Movement will be in contact with your client to record the impacts that working with Grow Movement has had on their business. Please also make time to share your experience as a VC with us.