Kuruka (2023-date)

The international community is largely unanimous in recognising the importance of small, growing businesses (SGB). Yet, despite considerable venture capital in the market, not much is invested into SGBs, usually considered higher risk. Much of what is invested goes to a select few, meaning the potential of most SGBs remains unrealised. Kuruka offers high performance counselling and coaching and aims in due course additionally to offer investment in the form of revenue participation agreements. Kuruka is a Swahili word meaning t jump, to increase suddenly and significantly, and that is exactly Kuruk'a intent: to support SGBs to vault to new heights. Instead of typical advice and technical assistance, Kuruka helps clients make better decisions and navigate better their growth paths by questioning critically, promoting methodical and logical thinking, offering key information, improving self-understanding, instilling good habits, and helping build good business and financial skills. Importantly, however, it also encourages clients to think about and address mental well-being and resilience in the face of adversity. A pilot programme in 2023-2024, undertaken in partnership with Acumen and funded by Global Affairs Canada, supported seven clients mainly from Kenya, but with one each from Uganda and Tanzania. The immediate aim was to help them address issues that were holding back the growth of their businesses though there was a longer term aim of helping some of them to become investment ready. Kuruka is a partnership of David Irwin and Baiju Vaidya.

PROFIT (2020-2022)

Promoting Regional Opportunities for Investment & Trade (PROFIT) started in August 2020 and launched at the end of October that year. It was an initiative of the Asian Development Bank to encourage and promote growth in trade and investment between India and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS, and which for the purposes of this project they defined as Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand). ADB awarded a contract to a partnership comprising IMC Worldwide (now subsumed into DT Global), Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and ASSIST Asia. I acted as team leader. We developed an 'acceleration service' targeted at SMEs, that is, a programme of support designed to help businesses start or expand international trade activities more quickly (and we hoped more successfully) than they would have done if there had been no help available. The programme was especially challenging as it was implemented during the covid pandemic. Nevertheless, it achieved all its targets before coming to a conclusion in February 2022.

The final report provides a description of the programme and the lessons. BCCI and ASSIST continue to offer some support: details are available from them directly.

Entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nepal (2019)

In 2019, working with IMC Worldwide and two consultancies in Nepal, David was team leader for a project intended to assist the World Bank to understand the small business ecosystem and the availability of support for small and growing businesses, as they aimed to put together a programme with the Government of Nepal intended to help firms to grow and, in particular, to create new jobs. The report is available on the World Bank website.

Improving the environment for SMEs in Rwanda (2019)

David Irwin was commissioned, with Associate, Eric Ndahayo, by Ikiraro, a programme managed by Palladium and funded by DFID (now FCDO) to undertake an assessment of Rwanda's entrepreneurial ecosystem for the Ministry of Commerce. The objective of the assignment was to review the policy environment as it related to SME formation and growth and then to make suggestions to reform public policies in order to stimulate further entrepreneurship and industrial development. The approach included an extensive literature review together with a large number of stakeholder interviews. We offered a number of suggestions for action – covering government policy, consultation and dialogue, and business support – which were well received by the Ministry for Industry. One of the recommendations was for the launch of a web-based information system to support new and growing businesses. Ikiraro was able to find a small budget to commission IGIHE, a local web service, to establish Kura Business Advisory. This was launched at kura.rw though has metamorphosed into a more general platform to support young people.

Connect to Grow (2015-2018)

David was team leader of Connect to Grow, part of a much larger programme of DFID (now FCDO) India intended to stimulate and transfer innovation amongst SMEs. Launched in 2015, and ran until April 2018, Connect aimed to partner enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa or south Asia who already had a proven but local market with enterprises in India who had an innovation, with the objective that both could then grow faster than they could otherwise and, more importantly, that they could deliver development outcomes. Whilst it had some similarities with challenge funds, it was designed in such a way that businesses could apply at any time. They were assessed against objective criteria and awards offered until the budget was allocated rather than being forced to compete against each other in 'rounds'. Promising proposals were offered advisory support to help them reach the stage where they could potentially submit a proposal likely to be acceptable to the advisory board.

You can read about one of the clients who manufactures and markets Sokhipad sanitary pads in Bangladesh. Another client, Agriaccess in Ghana grows sorghum, and wanted to introduce a system of micro-irrigation. This, together with improved and hybrid seed, was expected to increase yields substantially. They achieved significant coverage on national TV in Ghana. Watch the news here and wind forward about 9 minutes.

I am still working, pro bono, with one of the businesses that came through this programme. A key objective of the programme was to 'learn by doing' and to record lessons and insights. Our final learning report pulls together all the lessons from the three years that the programme ran.

ORCA (2005, 2010)

Organisation Cetacea (ORCA) is a registered charity that provides a forum for undertaking research, gathering observation data and raising interest and participation in conservation research on whales and dolphins. I first assessed ORCA in 2005 recommending the need for a strategic review and providing some modest further assistance. I undertook a further review in 2010, with recommendations to update the strategy and for Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to fund a CEO for three years, to which they agreed. I then supported the new CEO, Sally Hamilton, to develop appropriate strategic objectives and activities. An email from Sally in Aug 2023 says:



In an update in 2024, ORCA now expects to achieve turnover of £1m. Read ORCA'as latest report on the State of Cetaceans

Abuja Enterprise Agency (2004-2008)

Abuja Enterprise Agency is a business support agency whose objective is to support new and emerging businesses in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory. It was the first business support agency created in Nigeria and became a flagship for SMEDAN: the SME Development Agency of Nigeria. IGA undertook several assignments including:

• undertaking an initial feasibility study which recommended that an enterprise agency be set up and that, funding permitting, it should provide business advice, training and mentoring, loan finance and incubator workspace;
• preparing a detailed business plan with staffing proposal and budget;
• providing technical assistance, training and mentoring support to all of the staff - including supporting the executive director, training staff in a range of consulting and business skills and assisting with the development of AEA's own training materials (2006-2008).

Initially, Abuja Enterprise Agency was supported by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Department for International Development (DFID) as well as two banks, UBA and Diamond Bank.

Successes

• The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory provided additional funding to launch a loan fund and the banks agreed to provide three staff on secondment
• Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship is a high school programme intended to foster entrepreneurship amongst school students. One of the schools' entrepreneurs' clubs supported by AEA won the national heat and went to Ukraine at the end of July 2007 where they took the first prize.
• In November, 2007, it was announced that Tunde Popoola, the Executive Director, had been selected as the Nigeria country prize winner of the 1st Pan-African Prize for Entrepreneurial Teachers.

FAI Farms (2006)

FAI Farms is a farm in Oxfordshire which had been seeking opportunities to advise others how to farm more sustainably. It had set up a charity, the Farm Animal Welfare Trust, o promote farm animal welfare.

. IGA was commissioned by the Tubney Trust to assist FAI Farms to prepare a detailed business plan and financial forecast to secure £1.5m for a major project intended to improve chicken welfare through genetic selection.

The Tubney Trust was established by Miles and Briony Blackwell in 1992 to support activities that had a long term, sustainable, positive impact on the biodiversity of the UK and on the welfare of farmed animals both in the UK and internationally. Following the untimely death of its founders in 2001, the Trust received an additional £50m but made the decision to spend-down on a 10-year timeline, closing in 2012. Farm Animal Welfare Trust closed in 2016.

Business Advisory and Extension Service, Zimbabwe (1992-1994)

Whilst still at PNE, David Irwin was team leader for a team that provided long term technical assistance to the Business Advisory and Extension Service (BESA) to develop services for new and growing businesses in and around Harare. Support was delviered both on site in Harare and theough BESA staff visiting PNE. He was responsible for:

• delivering a range of training programmes for the Board and staff of BESA
• assisting to develop the strategy and structure for service delivery
• supporting the implementation of training and counselling services to entrepreneurs

This work was funded by what was then the UK Government's Overseas Development Administration.

Project North East (1980-2000)

In 1980, David Irwin & David GRayson founded Project North East, now just called PNE, an innovative enterprise and economic development agency based in the north east of England. Apart from supporting thousands of people to start and grow their own business, achievements included winning a contract from Shell to manage LiveWIRE to encourage young people to think about starting in business and to expand LiveWIRE internationally, creating the first Youth Enterprise Centre which became a model for YECs in the UK and internationally, initiating one of the UK’s first non-bank loan funds, and working extensively with emerging enterprise agencies in central Europe and southern Africa.