Ambassador Magazine

AMBASSADOR the

Volume 1 | Issue 1 | Summer 2010

FoR PRoFeSSIonAL & entRePReneURIAL AFRIcAnS – UK eDItIon

Tidjane Thiam First black ceo of a FtSe100 company

African buys Gatwick Airport: Adebayo ogunlesi

Reader Offer:

ISSn 1752-9107

RRP £3.80

see inside

www.ambassadormag.co.uk

contents

3

Contents 5 The Chairman’s Letter

g ambassador style

7 Events for your Diary

36-38 Business Style Overhaul! Flavilla Fongang gives

9

business styling advice

Movers & Shakers

g AMBASSADOR NEWS

g inspiration

10

Gatwick Airport – an African owned enterprise

39 Sonia Brown:

by Crisford Chogugudza

11-12 GUBA to honour Ghanaian Businesses in the UK

by Rickie Davis

g Cover Story 13 Tidjane Thiam, the First Black CEO of a

FTSE 100 Company

Championing the role of women in business 40 Profile: Jenna Gibb, Chairman of VIMBA 41 Profile: Rehul Patel, Founder of Ink 2 Paper 43 Profile: Ryan Hughes, CPS Office Supplies g recruitment

g Current affairs

44 What the Apointments Commission can do for you...

14-16 The Next Government:

46-47 Recruitment

The Impact on African Owned Businesses

by Nick Martindale

g Editor’s Q & A

g classifieds 49 Classifieds

17-18 Sola Oyebade, CEO of Mahogany International g africa affairs 20-21 ‘The Final Frontier’ – The comments of Africa Expert,

Ayo Johnson

g business planning 23 Top Business Start-Up Tips from Alan Gleeson 24

Business Insight: Offshoring

by Washington Kapapiro

25

5 Reasons why you need a business plan

28

Small Talk

g finance 29-31 World Microfinance Summit: Remit or not remit?

by Sam Mendelson

33-34 Your Guide to Inheritance Tax

by Ronald Olufunwa

g travel 35

‘Business Tourism is good for African Businesses’

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www.africa-investor.com

Infrastructure Projects Awards 21-22 October 2010, The Venue, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South Africa

2010

A

R

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Have you or your organisation achieved excellence in any of the following categories?

If so, then send us your nominations now!

The Africa investor Infrastructure Project Awards 2010 will recognise achievements across the main infrastructure sectors in Africa and reward the personalities driving transactions and improving the continents infrastructure investment climate.

The winners of the Africa Investor Infrastructure Investment Awards 2010 will be announced on the 21st October 2010, followed by a cocktail reception in recognition of the award winners. Investors in Africa’s fast-growing infrastructure sectors have a new platform to measure their performance against thanks to the Africa investor Infrastructure Investor awards.

2010 Africa investor Infrastructure Award Categories Developer of the year

Power deal of the year

Transport deal of the year

ICT/Telecoms deal of the year Water deal of the year

Social Infrastructure deal of the year Oil & Gas deal of the year

PPP Champion of the year

Infrastructure fund of the year

Infrastructure regulator of the year Sponsor of the year

Bank arranger of the year Legal adviser of the year Advisor of the year

The closing date for nominations is the 13th August 2010. For further information please contact Emma Sayers on esayers@africa-investor.com or Tel: +2711 7832431. Or visit http://www.africa-investor.com/event.asp?id=222

Publishing | Events | Research | Advisory | Online |

Broadcast

cHAIRMAn’S LetteR

5

chairman’s Introduction

“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

W

elcome to the Ambassador Magazine; the first and only business publication for professional and entrepreneurial Africans in the UK. African enterprises represent the fastest growing group of SMEs in the UK, contributing over £30 billion to the UK economy. The Ambassador Magazine is the official publication of the Association for African Owned Enterprises (UK) (AAOE) – a non-profit organization that represents Africans in Enterprise here in the UK. We represent our associates and our community in all business matters and are proud to be the largest representative body for African enterprise in the UK. There are over 5.5 million Africans in the UK today. Shocked? Well, it’s true! “African” includes all races from 52 African nations including both genders; dispersed in all corners of the UK. Africans have migrated from the continent for many reasons and at various times in history. Many have established their lives in the UK and have no immediate intentions to return to Africa. Africans are now settled and excelling

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

in various fields within the UK economy, doing well in all walks of life. Many success stories have come out of the African community here in the UK. However, there has not been a platform to tell these stories prior to the Ambassador Magazine.

I hope that all our readers will find the content informative and a real asset to their work. We are committed to delivering content that will enhance your work and inspire growth. The AAOE (UK) and the Ambassador Magazine remain non-partisan; we are not a religious organization and thus remain impartial. We are strictly committed to business with an eye on various corporate and social responsibilities. Business transcends all social and cultural limitations and as such, the business community has a social responsibility to create mentors who will inspire our youth to achieve their dreams.

The Ambassador Magazine has an important role to play in the development of our community and I have no doubt that we will deliver on our readers’ expectations.

6

eDItoR’S noteS

AMBASSADOR AMBASSADOR the

Volume 1 | Issue 1 | Summer 2010

the

FoR PRoFeSSIonAL & entRePReneURIAL AFRIcAnS – UK eDItIon

Tidjane Thiam Volume 1 | Issue 1 |

Summer 2010

First black ceo of a FtSe100 company

African buys Gatwick Airport: Adebayo ogunlesi

FoR PRoFeSSIon AL & entRePRene URIAL

AFRIcAnS – UK eDItIon

Tidjane Thiam First black ceo of a FtSe100 company

African buys Gatwick Airport: Adebayo ogunlesi

Reader Offer: see inside

Reader Offer:

editor’s note

RRP £3.80

www.ambassadormag.co.uk

H

ello and welcome to the first issue of Ambassador Magazine – an issue that carries a wealth of expertise from business professionals, whether they are entrepreneurs

or CEOs of FTSE 100 organisations.

ISSn 1752-9107

RRP £3.80

ISSn 1752-9107

see inside

www.ambassadormag.c o.uk

CREDITS Editor Aisha Phipps Contributing Writers

Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or an established businessman,

Ayo Johnson, Mary Tebje, Alan Gleeson, Flavilla Fongang,

Ambassador Magazine has something for you. As an African business in the

Nick Martindale, Sam Mendelson, Ronald Olunfunwa, Rickie

UK, many would agree that it is important to be surrounded by a supportive

Davis, Washington Kapapiro, Crisford Chogugudza, Paul Asinor,

business network and at Ambassador Magazine we are glad that you’ve

Elsie Boateng, Sonia Brown.

chosen us to be part of your network.

Just to give you a snippet of what’s to come in this issue, we have Africa affairs correspondent Ayo Johnson, who will no doubt leave you with something to think about and ‘Model man’ Sola Oyebade who tells us about

Photography Eamonn McCabe, Itai Machipisa , Courage Gwereketayi Advertising

his experiences in business. ‘Fashionista’ Flavilla Fongang gives expert tips

Mutsa Kada

on maintaining your business wardrobe and we get to tell you more about

Sales

Tidjane Thiam, the first African CEO of a FTSE 100 company.

Tony Burkson, Anthony Kakurira, Ryan Hughes

I hope you enjoy reading this issue and please, don’t be a stranger!

We welcome your views and opinions.

Advert Design Elisha Sithole

Aisha Phipps

Production

Editor

Toni Barrington, Dean Cook Circulation

Reader Offer

Gerald Nechironga Publisher Washington Kapapiro Cover Image Eamonn McCabe Ambassador Magazine is published by Fingertip Trade Limited in partnership with The Association for African Owned

20% discount

Enterprises (UK).

Address: 35A High Street, Barnet, Hertfordshire EN5 5UW. Tel: 0800 093 4384.

The views and opinions expressed by the contributors to Ambassador Magazine are that of their own and are not necessarily shared by Ambassador Magazine, Fingertip Trade Limited or the Association of African Owned Enterprises.

All information is correct at the time of going to press. All rights reserved. Articles may not be reproduced without permission from Fingertip Trade Ltd or AAOE (UK).This magazine can

for all readers of Ambassador Magazine see page 41 for details

be recycled at your local recycling point. Log on to www. recyclenow.com and enter your postcode to find your nearest sites.

To subscribe please visit: www.aaoe.org.uk or www.ambassadormag.co.uk ©2010

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

KeY eVentS

Key events We have an extensive portfolio of key events for your diary this year. Whilst some dates have not been confirmed, we will be marketing the events extensively once finalized. But keep an eye out for the following events in 2010.

Networking Events We will be hosting bi-monthly networking events. These will be hosted by our very own Ms. Ola Kupoluyi.

These will be held at various locations so keep an eye on our events calendar on www.aaoe.org.uk.

These events will invite professional and entrepreneurial delegates and will encourage growth through mutually beneficial partnerships amongst attendees and effective referrals to proven contacts.

Trade Show These will be run in conjunction with our strategic partners, including the High Commissions from various African countries. These will be unique in that their focus will be to stimulate a reverse brain drain, encouraging skilled professionals to lend a hand to Africa through identifying viable organisations to work with in Africa.

Trade Mission These will be arranged in conjunction with our strategic partners and UKTI. These will be trade missions to African countries and will encourage trade between Africa and the UK. This will prove the economic case for Africans in the UK being the gateway to the Continent.

African Women’s Summer Conference This will be a day conference where African business women will convene for a day to discuss matter affecting them and celebrate their successes. This will invite the Minister in this area and other leading speakers.

AAOE Business Summit This business summit will be a full day event, inviting ethnic minority entrepreneurs to convene and discuss all matters affecting their businesses. This event will invite all ethnic minorities to attend, inviting government ministers to speak along with other industry champions.

African Business Awards These will be held at the end of the year to celebrate African entrepreneurs and professionals who are living in the UK. These awards will include all Africans rather than ethnic minorities. These awards will be sponsored and winners will achieve publicity for their success and PR for their businesses.

Career Days Our Career Days program is designed to help our members give back to our community through engaging our youth and telling them how they can achieve various careers. Every company large or small has a Corporate Social Responsibility. Our career days help our members achieve their CSR by speaking at the Career Day and telling attendees how they achieved their success.

Volunteer Support All our events will need various jobs done. We invite you our members to lend a hand to our events committee. Be it large or small, any assistance will go a long way to ensuring that the events go off smoothly. Please contact events@aaoe.org.uk to register your interest. Many thanks.

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7

MoVeRS & SHAKeRS

9

Movers & Shakers

by Washington Kapapiro

A

fricans in the UK have made outstanding achievements over the past few years and I am pleased this section will bring to light some noteworthy individuals to show that Africans are truly making inroads in all facets of UK Enterprise. Whilst this column will try to bring to light all movers and shakers in the UK, many more might fail to be included. Such is the number of Africans doing big things in their varied areas of interest.

Perhaps the biggest mover and shaker over the past few months has been Mr. Tidjane Thiam (46), “the most interesting man in insurance”. Tidjane, originally from Ivory Coast, is the Chief Executive of Prudential. He was appointed in March 2009 and in less than six months in the job announced plans to embark on a record-breaking rights issue to fund the £23.6 billion acquisition of Asian rival AIA from American insurance giant AIG – shocking some investors and exciting others.

Another mover and shaker of note is Adebayo Ogunlesi (56), who is now the proud new owner of Gatwick Airport. Yes! Gatwick Airport. Making the airport an

African Owned Enterprise. Adebayo is currently Chairman and Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, a $5.64 billion joint venture formed by Credit Suisse and General Electric. In an exclusive interview with SKY News’ Jeff Randall, Adebayo said he is going “to make Gatwick a truly first class experience”. However he cautioned it would take “somewhere between 12 and 18 months” before passengers started noticing a difference at the airport.

Watch out for Michael Eboda, founder and CEO of Powerful Media Ltd. They have recently published the Power List 2010 of successful, black personalities. Michelle Obama recently received her copy of the Power List 2010. Michael is now working to put together the Power List 2011.

Finally, we congratulate Ms. Foluke Akinlose MBE who was recently awarded her MBE by the Queen for services to the Creative Industries. Foluke is the founder and editor of Precious Online and also organizes the PRECIOUS Awards, the leading ceremony celebrating the achievements of inspirational entrepreneurial women of colour who are running businesses in the UK.

Michael Eboda

Ms. Foluke Akinlose MBE

People who

contribute If you care enough to share your vision of how health and other public services can improve the lives of people in your community, this is your chance to give something valuable back.

Join us as a chair or non-executive director and have the opportunity to lead, influence and shape the future of these services.

If you have senior management experience and can offer just a few days per month, please contact us on 0870 240 3802 or visit

www.appointments.org.uk

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10

AMBASSADoR neWS

Adebayo ogunlesi: African buys Gatwick Airport

by Crisford Chogugudza

Adebayo Ogunlesi

Gatwick Airport

I

n a rare move which many in corporate UK world never anticipated, America based Nigerian born Adebayo Ogunlesi, defied all business traditions by becoming the first black African to lead a consortium which in February 2010 acquired the prestigious Gatwick Airport, London’s second biggest airport.

The sale of Gatwick to GIP, which is subject to approval by the European Union, is due to be completed by the end of the year. The airport is currently run by BAA, which posted a pre-tax loss of over £780m in the first nine months of the year. The airport operator, BAA said it lost £225m on Gatwick after being forced to sell the airport by the Competition Commission.

Adebayo Ogunlesi, told Sky News earlier this year how he is going to shake-up Britain’s airport business. In an exclusive interview with Jeff Randall, the flamboyant Nigerian said he is going “to make Gatwick a truly first class experience”. Mr Ogunlesi said the UK’s strong regulatory framework and attractive assets made “Britain a wonderful place to invest”.

Mr Ogunlesi is currently Chairman and Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, a $5.64 billion joint venture formed by Credit Suisse and General Electric. Prior to his current role, he was Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer of Credit Suisse, based in New York. He previously served as a member of Credit Suisse’s Executive Board

and Management Council and chaired the Chairman’s Board. Previously, he was the Global Head of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse.

Mr Ogunlesi, whose father was the first Nigerian-born medical professor tenured in his home country, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and then earned law and business degrees from Harvard University, USA. Mr Ogunlesi joined the top New York law firm Cravath, Swain & Moore, and seized the opportunity to advise First Boston on a Nigerian gas project. Success on the project lead him further up the career ladder to a role in project finance at First Boston, a firm acquired by Credit Suisse in 1997. Mr Ogunlesi brokered deals in which lenders finance assets like oil refineries and mines and are repaid with revenues generated.

Mr Ogunlesi has lived in New York for twenty years and is active in volunteer work; but he also cultivates his ties to Africa. He informally advises the Nigerian government on privatisation issues. Mr Ogunlesi is a typical example of black African business success that should be emulated across the Diaspora and more so in the UK where the enthusiasm for a new wave of entrepreneurship is gathering pace. Mr Ogunlesi’s success comes at the back of Barack Obama’s triumph in American politics, which was another first. The revival of black success is gradually gathering momentum on both sides of the Atlantic.

The airport operator, BAA said it lost £225m on Gatwick after being forced to sell the airport by the Competition Commission.

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

AMBASSADoR neWS

11

GUBA to honour Ghanaian businesses in the UK

by Rickie Davis

Dentaa, CEO of GUBA

T

he Ghanaian UK Based Achievement Awards (GUBA) is gearing up to support and celebrate the hard work of all Ghanaian businesses and individual personalities that have excelled within the Ghanaian Community in the UK. British-Ghanaian owned businesses are an important part of the UK economy, particularly in London. Ghanaian owned businesses make up a part of the 16,000 black owned businesses in London and contribute to the £10 billion sales turnover generated by the capital’s African and Caribbean owned businesses.

Ghanaians, especially British Ghanaians, are now running successful mainstream sectors such as law, financial and professional services, computing, and media; fashion, retail, property services, event management and recruitment.

They also continue to thrive in traditional business segments such as grocery stores, restaurants, freight and travel, import and export, beauty and hairdressing.

African businesses in the UK need more recognition,” says TV star and GUBA CEO Dentaa. “I believe that there are many successful Ghanaian businesses in our community who are making valuable contributions to the UK economy as well as in Ghana and Africa as a whole.

Ethnic businesses are 20% more likely to fail in their first four years and are also refused credit compared to other-owned businesses. So those are able to excel beyond that threshold certainly deserve recognition.”

Dentaa added, “Despite these obstacles some Ghanaian businesses have been in business for over ten, twenty, thirty years and have not been recognised for their success. This is what inspired me to set up the Ghana UK Based Achievements Awards. GUBA is a non-profit organisation initiated to acknowledge and support Ghanaian community based businesses in the UK by identifying innovation, improvement and the quality of work.”

GUBA is the brainchild of Dentaa, the host of OBE TV’s most watched entertainment programme, The Dentaa Show. She took Ghana by storm last year when she landed a deal to be the host for the ever popular Mentor IV, Ghana’s version of the X-Factor and she followed up that gig as co-host for the 2009 Ghana Music Awards.

John Paintsil, the Ghanaian International footballer who currently plays for Fulham, is proud to be the patron for the awards. “We chose John as our patron because he is a perfect example of a Ghanaian doing well in the UK and his success raises the flag for Ghana,” says GUBA CEO. Paintsil recently set up a charity called the Paintsil Peace Kid Project (PPKP) which is aimed at African children between the ages of eight and twelve, especially those living in high risk conflict zones. Football will be used as a tool to unite them and help them appreciate the importance of peace.

Paintsil states, “Football is the number one sport in Ghana because it is the only game that

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

“African businesses in the UK need more recognition...”

Dentaa, CEO of GUBA

unites Ghanaians. PPKP will bring together young people from diverse backgrounds to play in a mini tournament to promote peace. The campaign commences with a two week peace camp starting from November to train youth leaders as peace pioneers.”

GUBA is coined to be a night to remember.

Voting commences in July.

For further information and to be a GUBA VIP sponsor please visit www.gubaawards.co.uk or email info@gubaawards.com.

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HRAD1 11/09

cover story

13

Tidjane Thiam – First black CEO of a FTSE100 Company

by Crisford Chogugudza

I

n what many thought was inconceivable, Tidjane Thiam, originally from Ivory Coast, broke the ice and became the first black person to head a FTSE 100 company in the UK in the same year that Obama was making history.

Within a year in the job, Tidjane has gone on to engineer a daring bid to buy AIA, the Asian arm of US-based insurer AIG through asking shareholders to stump up for Britain’s biggest ever rights issue. If he succeeds, he will double the size of Prudential, making it the largest life insurer in the world outside China, with 80% to 90% of its business in Asia.

So who is this Tidjane Thiam? Born on July 29, 1962, Tidjane became the Chief Executive of Prudential in 2009, after a stint as their finance director in 2008. Since November 2002, Tidjane Thiam had been Group Strategy and Development Director at Aviva plc. Tidjane made a high profile move from Aviva to join Prudential. Tidjane took over as Chief Executive after his predecessor; South African born Mark Tucker resigned, making him the first black chief executive of a FTSE 100 company.

Tidjane is a family man; married with two children. His wife, Annette, is African-American and a lawyer by profession. She used to work for Joe Biden before he became Obama’s vice-president.

The Arsenal supporting Thiam Tidjane Thiam holds engineering degrees from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris (top of his class), and an MBA from INSEAD (Dean’s list). Tidjane began his professional career in 1986 in Paris as an international consultant with McKinsey. From 1986 to 1994

he worked successively in Paris, New York and several European Union countries. In 1989 he took a one-year sabbatical from McKinsey with the World Bank in Washington, D.C. to participate in the Young Professionals Program.

In 1994 Tidjane was called back to his country to become the first Ivorian Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau for Technical Studies and Development (the BNETD) , reporting directly to the President and the Prime Minister. In 1998 Tidjane was selected to be one of the annual 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos. In August 1998 he was appointed Chairman of the BNETD and Minister of Planning and Development of Côte d’Ivoire, a position he held until December 1999. As such he was responsible for strategic planning, for coordination of public investment in infrastructure and for poverty alleviation. He also survived a military coup while finance minister of the Ivory Coast.

According to the Telegraph, Tidjane was in 2008 named the second-most influential black man in Britain. He was one of the Davos World Economic Forum’s “dream cabinet” and was also a member of Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa. Tidjane’s father was a journalist who was imprisoned before fleeing with a four-year old Thiam and family to Paris. His mother was the niece of a former president but never went to school, and taught herself to read as an adult.

Tidjane’s journey was not without its obstacles. He has needed to confront prejudice in his ascent to the top. He told the Guardian in 2007 that his frustration with job rejections led him to be increasingly blunt.

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“I was tired of the usual answer, which is ‘we like you, you are a great guy but this is a division with 10,000 employees and we just don’t think they would understand having someone like you at the helm’. I was told that a number of times and I was getting a bit tired.”

Sandra Kerr, director of Race for Opportunity, a Business in the Community programme that focuses on race equality in the workplace commented on a BBC website that “there are some inspirational examples that should be shared – well done to Prudential for creating a culture that encourages the best talent to rightly progress to the top. While Tidjane Thiam’s success gives me hope that the UK is starting to reflect the diverse image we all aspire to, I urge business and government to acknowledge the crucial steps that must be taken to achieve a diverse workforce we can be proud of’’.

UK based Black entrepreneur Piers Linney also commented on a BBC website that Tidjane Thiam’s appointment ‘is certainly a milestone for black people in this country and the fact that it has only just happened is also a reminder that there is still some way to go before black faces are the norm around the boardroom tables of UK PLC. There is growing enthusiasm among both old, young and new black entrepreneurs that the time has come to show the world that they have what it takes and can perform in the same manner as their white counterparts. The Labour government has in the last couple of years promoted black business enterprise by putting a number of support mechanisms that undoubtedly help propel those who want to succeed in business.

14

current affairs

African-owned enterprises and the election

by Nick Martindale

W

hen the country goes to the polls in a few weeks, there will be a sizeable proportion of voters who will be swayed not by any health or education policy, or even the increasingly polarised debate over cutting the deficit.

For many small business owners, the issues are simply about which party offers them the best chance of surviving the worst economic downturn in almost eighty years and the help they need to grow as the economy gradually recovers.

For African-owned enterprises in particular, there remains a sense that much more could be done by all three main political parties to assist entrepreneurs.

One of the main areas of concern is access to finance. This is an issue for all small firms in the current climate but is of even greater importance for African-owned businesses, where there is not a tradition of borrowing money,” says Washington Kapapiro, chairman of the Association for African Owned Enterprises (AAOE).

“Ethnic minorities – particularly Africans, don’t really go to banks because they don’t have the confidence that they will qualify for finance,” he says.

“The major banks and even the government programmes are very reluctant to advertise within our community and if they’re not making the effort to do that it’s going to be difficult for them to earn trust from within the community.

That’s one of the first things for whichever government comes into power to address.”

Part of the solution here, argues Kapapiro, is to engage with existing organisations such as the AAOE and to amend existing policies so they address issues that are specific to the African business community.

“Not all ethnic minorities have been in the UK for the same length of time; there was a huge influx of Africans in the UK between 1999 and 2008 and since then we’ve grown in numbers,” he says. “It’s not justifiable for the government to create policies for all ethnic minorities, including Asians and Afro-Caribbeans who have been here for a very long time.”

Not everyone agrees with this policy, however.

“We don’t target communities based on where they’re from,” says Kemi Adegoke, Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood. “We have policies that can help anyone who live in this country and are residents here, irrespective of their origins.”

“Conservatives believe in small government so we don’t believe the government should be interfering in how people run their businesses but we do want to create a regime where people can set up and run businesses,” she adds.

A recent report by the Ethnic Minority Business Task Force – a government initiative set up in 2007 to encourage the growth of minority businesses, highlighted the lack of distinction made in government circles: of the 13 individuals on the panel not one was from a black African background.

Columba Blango is the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Camberwell and Peckham and a former mayor of Southwark. He says African-owned enterprises often operate in deprived areas, which can also deter banks from loaning money and therefore should be given additional support through business rates and service charges.

“Our policy is to set up a system which would deal with these traders on an individual basis and look at what they are doing and their ability within the market,” he says. “The whole aim should be to help these traders succeed within their market area and to do that you have to treat them on an individualised not a generalised basis.”

There is also substantial room for improvement in ensuring African entrepreneurs receive the help and support they need to get businesses off the ground. Research by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, for example, found that 35% of black Africans wanted to start up in business but very few actually did so. Just 4% of the adult population worked for themselves in 2008, compared to 7% for minority businesses as a whole and 8% of white groups.

“How a business operates in this country is completely different to how it operates back in

“Ethnic minorities – particularly Africans, don’t really go to banks because they don’t have the confidence that they will qualify for finance.”

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current affairs

Africa,” says Blango. “They come with different methods of business practice and a different mindset into an environment that is completely new to them. They should be given proper education and training so they have a clear knowledge of how businesses operate in this country and assistance to help them survive within a competitive and volatile market.”

“We need more financial education and education on how the system works over here,” agrees Kapapiro. “That’s something the government doesn’t really offer; we’re just put in the system and we have to fend for ourselves.

“Most Africans are only first generation. If you’re third or fourth you have the advantage of having uncles or aunts who you can talk to about various matters but with Africans we don’t have that to fall back on.”

This issue of contacts – or a lack of them – is something picked up on by Chi Onwurah, Labour Parliamentary candidate for Newcastle Central. “A lot can happen in this country by connections,” she says. “The challenges African-owned enterprises face is around a lack

of connections and lack of access to all the different types of support which are available.

“They may also often be going for niche markets which need to be targeted in the right way and that can take marketing skills which traditional marketing groups may not be able to support equally. It really comes down to providing as much support as possible to accessing the infrastructure that’s already there and targeting that to different niche communities.”

But while the main political parties could undoubtedly do more to educate Africanowned firms, Onwurah also argues they could do more to help themselves in this area. “There is more to be done but it’s also important that the African-owned community has a stronger voice in saying what it wants,” she says.

Adegoke believes African-owned enterprises could help themselves by ensuring they are familiar with the requirements of starting up a business in the UK before they start. “One thing I’d be looking to do would be to let people know what they can and cannot do,” she says. “A lot of restaurants, for example,

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15

ship food in from Africa without looking at the laws that are required for moving things through customs, and then they get arrested and get very large fines.

“That comes from a culture where people don’t really pay attention to these things and the regulatory bodies don’t really investigate what people are doing. That’s where a lot of the African businesses fail, whereas the Asian ones don’t. It’s not because the government has made anything easier for businesses run by Asians; it’s because people within their community have taken the time to learn how best to work with the system. There are a lot of missed opportunities

by African-owned enterprises.”

Making better use of apprentice schemes and mentoring before starting up is another way African entrepreneurs could help familiarise themselves with the business environment. “It’s almost unheard of in the African community,” she says.

There are also wider issues facing all small businesses that are hot topics in the current election campaign. The planned increase in

16

current affairs

National Insurance contributions, which the Conservatives have pledged to scrap, is a key point for John Wright, outgoing national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses.

“Research by the FSB and the Centre for Economics and Business Research showed that up to 57,000 jobs could be lost if National Insurance was increased by one percentage point,” he says. The availability of finance is also a big issue: 41% of FSB members have used their own personal savings to get by during the current trading conditions.

Labour’s Onwurah, meanwhile, believes that what distinguishes her party from the other two main ones is belief that the public sector and government can play a supporting role in helping small businesses get off the ground.

“We’ve brought in a number of measures for small businesses such as the reductions in corporation tax, the freeze on paying business rates for empty properties and reductions in business rates which support small businesses,” she says. “More generally, the Labour party has always supported diversity in society and in business.”

For their part, the Conservatives have announced that they will review the controversial IR35 tax regime, which particularly affects those working as freelance IT contractors, as part of a

wider review of small business taxation should they win the next election.

“A lot of Africans work in technology and work for themselves and this will make a huge difference to them,” says Adegoke.

The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have pledged to reduce the amount of regulation around business in general and the importation of goods in particular, says Blango. “It is extremely difficult and expensive to import commodities into this country which is why when these goods and commodities come into the market they are even more expensive,” he says.

“We’re in a situation where they have the possibility of a quick turnover in the market but that is not happening.”

There can be little doubt that African-owned enterprises – along with small businesses in general – can play a part in helping the UK economy to recover from the economic recession that has dominated the past two years. Whichever party eventually comes to power – or is in a position to influence policy – would do well to remember that.

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

Editor’s q & a

17

Editor’s Q & A: Sola Oyebade

By Aisha Phipps, Editor Sola Oyebade, CEO of Mahogany International, show producer, international judge and choreographer, talks to AMBASSADOR magazine about business, life, professionalism and positivity.

S

ola, age 47, was born in the UK and is of Nigerian parentage He founded Mahogany Models (Mahogany International) in 1996. His five year plan is to see Mahogany Models become a worldwide brand with one of his brand extensions ‘Top Model of Colour’ expanding into numerous countries around the world.

AM: Tell us about Mahogany International?

SO: Mahogany International is a group of companies that consists of Mahogany Models (Europe’s largest modelling agency for models of colour), the Mahogany Bridal Show (Europe’s only African Caribbean bridal show), Mahogany Productions (producing shows for Mahogany as well as other clients around the world both live fashion shows, award ceremonies and TV shows, reality and lifestyle), ‘Fashion Diversity’ (a fashion week style show done during London Fashion Week) and our internationally acclaimed Top Model of Colour competition, which is done in various countries around the world.

AM: What made you go into that particular line of business?

SO: Mahogany originally started with the bridal shows. This was set up because back in 1996 there was nothing available to African Caribbean’s when it came to our specific needs for wedding related goods and services and we were one of the only communities that did not have our own bridal show. So I decided to set up a company that would aim to meet the shortfalls and the needs of our community and as such over the years we have set up other companies and shows solely because of the lack of these types of shows within our community.

AM: As a youngster were you always interested in that area of business?

SO: Being of Nigerian heritage it was always instilled in me that I must be a professional and have a stable professional job. Even though I went to university and got a degree, it must be said that right from secondary school I was already producing fashion shows which we performed at other schools. Whilst in university I modelled throughout, doing some major advertising campaigns in Nigeria. Upon leaving university I thought it would be sensible to get a stable job

available to small business so it was started based on the knowledge I had from working in the banking industry, what I knew about the fashion industry and my passion to succeed. Along the way I made lots of mistakes which in the long run were beneficial to me as it made my business stronger and it has enabled me to impart some knowledge and wisdom onto others that come to me for advice.

“African businesses must ensure they are providing meaningful and useful services that employ people and contribute overall to the economy...” and focus on a career outside of the entertainment industry. I became a branch manager for the Abbey National bank and later went on to be the first male director for the Citizens Advice bureau but my head was always in entertainment as I deejayed and continued to build up Mahogany whilst holding these senior management roles. In the end I had to succumb to my desires to work in the field that I loved and decided to work full-time on Mahogany and I made the leap of faith about four years ago.

AM: How did you go about getting the start up help or advice needed?

SO: In 1996 when I started the business there was not really much help and assistance

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

AM: Who did you turn to for the start up costs?

SO: There was no one to turn to at the time all of the resources came from my wife and I at the time. We put every penny we had together to start the business, it was hard at first but as time went along it became better. We did try the banks but no one really liked the idea of funding an African Caribbean bridal show or even saw the need for one. Even though we did not get money from friends and family they were over supportive in assisting us get the business up and running and they were always available to give us support in kind and plenty of love and encouragement.

AM: What stumbling blocks did you encounter along the way as an African owned business and what advice would you give to others?

SO: I think the biggest hurdle that black businesses face is the access to funds, we are one of the few communities that you find that most of the time we have to put up our own funds to start our businesses – either by way of remortgaging our properties or getting loans from friends and family or using our own savings. Generally this is not the rule of business and a lot of other communities do not have to go down this line as they have easier access to bank loans etc.

In addition we sometimes are our own worst enemies as we get a lot of opposition and negativity from within our own community and we are held to higher expectations, which I feel is a great shame as no one knowingly tries to provide a bad service.

I think one of the other stumbling blocks is if the market is big enough to sustain us and the difficulties we have in crossing over into mainstream... it is important to always be professional and provide the best service or

18

Editor’s q & a

goods that you can. Customer service is very important and must always be of a very high standard, try and avoid fitting into the stereotypes of how people perceive black businesses. Be the best you can be and when you are knocked down get back no matter how many times, don’t give up, dust yourself off and start again. The people that succeed in life are those that get knocked down, get back up and never give up.

AM: Are there any stumbling blocks that you still encounter as an African-owned business, for example the attitudes and opinions of others?

SO: I would not call them stumbling blocks but I do get regular issues that I have to deal with on a regular basis due to the type of work that Mahogany does and the fact that it is trying to redress imbalances within the entertainment industry. We are continuously accused of racism because we tend to do things that benefit people of colour and thus in the process it seems that we are excluding white people from what we do, but it is the exact opposite. We are only trying to make our people better so that they can be accepted and incorporated into mainstream.

There are mainstream companies that have taken the time to understand what we do have found their relationship with us to be extremely beneficial and profitable to them. They have made inroads into a very lucrative market. I think this aspect is easier to deal with than some of the negativity we receive from our direct clientele particularly within the UK as it does not exist outside of the UK. We are held to higher standards by our community and the smallest of mistakes is jumped upon and torn to pieces, unfortunately not always in the most constructive of ways. But it must also be said that we have many people that are very supportive of what we do and they come forward on a regular basis to support us and assist us and provide constructive criticism which we always take on board.

AM: How do you overcome or cope with stumbling blocks and what business planning advice would you give to others who wish to pursue the same or similar line of business?

SO: The first thing is that I would say you must always believe in yourself and what you are doing and trying to achieve. Once you have the belief nobody can knock you off your perch or divert you from your journey to success... at times you will feel like giving up but it at those times one should speak to people like me or better still make sure you have a mentor that can guide you and encourage you. Many a people fail in their business because they have failed to acquire the knowledge and exactly what would be required of them to succeed. You must know your

industry inside out not only the things that relate to you directly but also indirect things. Knowledge is power. Avoid being a jack of all trades and or your business will have no real identity...you must be focussed...you must try and get a good work life balance and do something outside of the industry...I am a diehard Arsenal fan and I travel around watching all of their games live at the stadium...this is my relief from the strain and stresses of the industry.

AM: They say that it’s not until you embark on a particular journey when you find out who your real friends are. How did friends and/or family react to what you do? What advice would you give to young African entrepreneurs who haven’t got the support network of friends and/or family around them?

SO: I am very fortunate as I have fantastic, supportive friends and family who have supported 100% in everything that I do and have always been there for me during the good and more importantly during the bad times.

It is important to choose your confidants very carefully and be sure that they are your friends for the right reason and that when they give you advice once again it is from a pure heart.

Only discuss the full details with only your very closest of friends or family as not everyone would always have your best interest at heart...along the way I have had to drop some friends that I thought were my friends but it soon came out there was envy and jealousy involved especially when it came to advising me or talking about my business...

They say no man is an island so even if you do not have friends and family to support you, find a mentor – someone that you can shadow, someone that you can go to for advice and support. It must be someone that you respect and someone that you aspire to be like. Remember there is no magic in small dreams.

AM: Do you feel African owned business have to alter the way in which they do business in the UK? SO: Yes they must, we can no longer provide mediocre services and use the excuse that ‘that is how we do things so live with it’. People expect value for money regardless. We must be more professional and provide excellent customer service. If I go to an African restaurant I expect the service to be as good as if I went to a Chinese restaurant. There are no excuses as one can attend business classes to learn how to provide quality services.

Research your market and don’t just do a copy cat business, by this I mean that Africans have a tendency of doing a business not because they are interested in it but because they saw that someone else who is doing it is making money.

Your first motivation must not be money but doing a business you enjoy, if you do that the money will follow. At Mahogany our first and foremost motivation has always been about initiating change within the fashion industry and in the process of trying to do this fame and success have followed, hard work is always rewarded in the end...

AM: How important is it for African entrepreneurs to familiarise themselves with the UK business environment?

SO: It is important to familiarise yourself with any business environment that you work within and being in the UK is no different, you must understand the rules of the land, what laws or legislations apply to your business, and if you’re fully compliant. Are there any corporate bodies you need to belong to? Do you have all of the necessary insurance in place? Are you keeping good accurate accounts and costing your business properly? These are all things that one must consider when doing business in the UK. AM: Do you feel the government can do more to help African owned businesses receive the help and funding they need? What are your views?

SO: The role of the government is to assist businesses in the UK generally and it is important that we see ourselves as part of the business community and as such we do not need to have special assistance for African businesses. If we produce good business plans and run our business in a professional manner we will (sometimes with some difficulty) access all of the various assistances that are available.

African businesses must ensure they are providing meaningful and useful services that employ people and contribute overall to the economy if they wish to access broader funding and government grants that are available.

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

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20

africa affairs

The final frontier

Y

ou may be forgiven if “the final frontier” was to mirror the title of a Hollywood blockbuster or you could also be mistaken; if you thought “the final frontier” could not be reflective of a continent; usually dubbed the darkest place on earth.

The truth is that Africa is the next New frontier of mineral exploration. With major stakeholders battling, wilding and conniving their charm against a complex network of shady deals to outwit the cool, smart and calculative moves of the Chinese.

Africa strategic importance can not be underplayed nor it value cheapened It’s geographical positioning and untapped mineral wealth makes it a unique selling proposition to any investor. The trading ability of any multinational company is dependant on contracts signed and memorandum of understandings reached between hosts and investing governments.

African countries dissatisfied by the unequal trading relationship with the rest of the world, have hardened their political stance. China’s current interest in Africa is only a convenient opportunity for African governments to support another wood-by investor.

China’s interest and relationship building with Africa over the past 10 years has left the continent in a relatively descent shape. African governments have realised that they need Trade far more than AID. They need fair term without carrot and stick approach linked to investment.

African’s clearly understand that they can choose between China from the East versus the rest of the world.

China has stolen the lead in Africa with over 60 Billion Dollars worth of investment and untold influence. Virtually in slow motion, over night the Chinese had taken a grip of mineral extraction with Europe and the USA a distance fourth. Behind Russia and Brazil, both major players in their own right.

Industrialised nations appetite for oil goes unabated despite calls from pressure groups.

Governments need to diversify into large scale

By Ayo Johnson

production of new greener cleaner technologies of wind, solar and hydro. Wars in the Middle East combined with strained relationship with most Eastern oil producing countries; have forced the West to look for new suppliers of oil.

China is also desperate, its fast growth pace, technological advancement have increased it’s appetite for energy to fuel its enormous economy. This is the central driving force that justifies it presence in Africa. China’s dominance across the continent has come at a price. The Chinese have built bridges, road and general infrastructure all for free. In a bid to guarantee access to Africa’s precious minerals.

China have also provided soft loans to African governments namely Angola, Sudan, Zambia, Congo and Rwanda; as a means of raising much needed private capital outside of the frame work of the (IMF) International Monetary Fund and the (WB)World Bank.

The Chinese have not imposed conditionality packages as part of their loan agreements; unlike the stringent and detrimental conditionality packages imposed by IMF, WB and Industrialised nations. Instead China has requested that African government in receipt of Chinese money do business with Chinese companies and buy goods from Chinese firms.

Guaranteeing that the circulation of money is kept strictly with the China / Africa Trade Zone.

Squeezing Western products and firms out of the picture. There are now little China Town enclave popping up all over Africa with cheep Chinese goods replacing Western brand names.

It is therefore not surprising that President Osama’s visited Africa, flagged by an extended trip to various mineral hot spots by Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton. The USA is eager to show support to Africa and to rekindle influence in a bid to up root and dislodge the Chinese iron grip on the continent.

African leaders and their advisers have finally awakened, realising what the new type of globalise politics is all about. Who are the new major players and what choices have to be made? Africa finds it’s self in a very unique position to be able to choose among multiple investors all bidding for the same job. This increases the value of Africa’s currency ensuring that the best deals are signed. Africa’s choice will be at the expense of western governments and their respective multinational companies.

A liberalised continent is voting with its feet and changing suppliers, manufacturers and investors all at the same time. This is ground breaking and truly unprecedented.

He who pays the piper will always call the tune. Who ever controls Africa’s minerals

resources, builds infrastructure, provide cheap products for African markets and loans to support government initiatives, will always have an influence over Africa’s affairs.

Most developed nations are not sure how to respond to Africa. Europeans, who had taken a hard-line stance on the African countries, risk having their contracts cancelled and deals renegotiated. This has resulted in a significant shift in mindset. The USA and Europe have changed long term hardened position against the Sudan and Libya in exchange for mineral contracts. The French adopts softer line with Guinea’s military junta and desperate efforts

by Nicholas Sakosi to mending the rift with the Angolan’s, after a military deal that went sour.

It’s all change in the name of and fear of loosing Billion Dollar contracts. Especially as the Chinese are always lurking in the shadows; to snap up contracts that are being renegotiated.

African governments are using this unique opportunity to negotiate hard with Europe and the USA for rates and terms that benefit their communities.

China’s influence in Africa is steadily growing.

China will soon have to gently start to coax African governments to adopt more proactive and economic fiscal processes. China will have to ensure that leaders whom it have signed mineral agreements with stay in power.

Maintaining China’s dominant position and over all control; whilst freezing the West governments out of Africa.

China sees its current business relationship with Africa as strictly an exchange of ideas and expertise in structural development as a pretext to access and to precious minerals. China has

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

africa affairs

to realise that most countries in Africa are fragile states by definition and the condition that lead to their fragility are still apparent.

Poverty inequality and lack of good governance are the solitary reason for conflict and instability.

China’s current formula of quiet diplomacy and neutral position on most sensitive matter relating to the African continent can only be acceptable in the short term. This strategy will become problematic in the medium to long term. When African government change and new leaders adopt a negative stance to what had previously been approved.

China’s legacy in Africa may be kinder in its favour. Less so for other industrialised nations; whose influences have not always been in Africa’s best interest. Western Aid models have increased government dependency levels to exceed 70 % of national budgets. Where as poverty levels of 80% are far higher than it was 50 years ago.

China must be mindful that with great power comes great responsibility. China’s human rights record has always been open to question. It remains to be seen how if at all it can shrug off its appalling record and start to use it’s influence and question African governments that fall short of international acceptable standards.

Chinese companies operating on the African continent have got to ensure that they adhere to local and international working standards. There has been unrest in both Ethiopia and Sudan where workers have demonstrated seeking better standard of pay, personal conditions and above all safer levels of working.

Sierra Leone, Ghana and Uganda are a growing list of countries that have now joined the exclusive club of nations striking it rich with off shore oil. Quantities found exceeding what Gadafi Libya currently has in reserve. Provided these countries are managed properly, with a constant supply of cash injection worth Billions.

They do have the potential to develop, evolve and transform beyond all recognition.

Civil Society responsibility is now paramount in calling for better transparency. They must question the terms of China’s contractual arrangements with respective governments.

Whilst seeking better terms for workers and greater accountability of African governmental ministries.

Statue of Pride or Shame It stands taller that most buildings in the world including that of the statue of Liberty. It cost in excess of 25 million dollars. It was built by the North Koreans; I refer not to a building in the United States nor that in Europe or any where in the Middle East.

Africa’s most controversial figure, President Wade of Senegal has instigated, supported

and overseen the building of this monumental structure. It symbolizes Senegal’s 50 years of independence from French colonial rule.

This structure has been controversial with many from the faith communities in Senegal and around the world angered. Christians were in receipt of a public apology from the president after he compared the statue with Jesus Christ.

Many Muslims are appalled and ashamed resulting in a religious fatwa declared and the president resignation demanded.

There have been angry seen on the streets in Senegal, with demonstrations from the general population including members of the parliamentary opposition party.

The image of this statue is of a half dressed man pulling his wife, spouse or girlfriend virtually naked with a baby aloft also wearing very little clothing.

Many Senegalese claim the sculpture has nothing to do with their customs, religion or way of life and it has very little affiliation with what Senegal is all about.

President Wade’s decision to erect this structure could stir much needed debate on degrees of tolerance, understanding, freedom of expression and clear thinking.

Senegal like so many African countries is poor with large unemployment amongst the general populace. It defies belief how President Wade could justify the use of the public money in this fashion. Especially as local labour was not used during the construction of this symbolic image.

It remains to be seen if this structure will become a tourist attraction attracting much needed cash back into the economy.

President Wade has also made it much more difficult for the full benefits of tourism to filter back to common Senegalese. He has declared that he would pocket personally; over a third of all income generated by the sculpture as it was his idea in the first place.

It shows a President who is out of touch with his people. This could also spell an opportunity for the opposition; to capitalize on an elderly statesman whose decision making seems off the mark. Especially as the country is less that 24 month away from a general election.

African Leaders Make Giant steps in the fight against corruption The presidents of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Congo are raising the bar by declaring publicly their fight against corruption.

Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma became the first Head of State to declare his assets to the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission. He also branded and sacked three ministers due to corruption. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia went one step further offering financial incentives for whistle

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

21

blower to expose corrupt officials. The Ghanaian President John Atta-Mills refused to accept gift and presents from anyone; fearful that the acceptance of such gifts might trigger a degree of expected favours in return; and President Joseph Kabila of Congo fired hundreds of people accused of corruption from State Ministry and other government departments.

All four presidents have sent the vitally important message that corruption will not be accepted in any form.

The issue of corruption has long been a cancer and a shameful scourge on the African continent. Corruption has being echoed by industrialized nations as part and parcel of Africa’s culture and ideology.

African Leaders from the sub-continent have in the past horded billions of dollars into foreign bank accounts due to their lack vision of how to galvanise their people. In many parts of Africa this has lead to perpetually failure within their communities specifically in human and structural development, the ramification of which would linger for many generations to come.

Some Industrialized Nations in the north relishing this opportunity of ample cash flow for their economic development, have encouraged connive and at times turned a blind eye to corrupt leaders in the south continual plundering Africa’s wealth .

We must accept that corruption is a two way process involving a giver and a receiver which has now become a way of life for many leaders in Africa, it is estimated that corruption cost the African continent over a 150 billion dollars a year. That is money that could have been spent on health education and building up the rural economy.

As awareness of issues surrounding corruption has intensified in the world, some African nations are now beginning to change their laws to make it harder for corrupt officials to stash stolen money in foreign banks.

Presidents of Sierra Leone, Liberia Ghana and Congo have shown great courage and exemplary leadership by leading the fight against corruption for the rest of Africa to follow.

Developed Nations in the West now have a positive role to play, in promoting good governance and to monitor poorer economies.

It is time for governments of the Third World to sit up take stock and become responsible by creating jobs for their people and local communities need to engage their leaders by mobilizing public action.

Real development in Africa is unlikely to change poor people’s lives if there is not an injection of foreign direct investment into the economy and a halt to continual perpetual cycle of bad governance.

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BUSIneSS PLAnnInG

Some tips for starting a new business

by Alan Gleeson

S

tarting a business is an incredibly exciting time for any entrepreneur; however it can also be stressful with so much to do in so little time. The start-up phase is also characterized by significant expenditures against a backdrop of uncertain income. However, there are a number of products and services that can help you maximize your chances of success while also saving you considerable time and money.

This article aims to introduce you to some of the less obvious ones that are available via the Internet. These products and services can help you set your business on the right path from day one. While these recommendations will not be appropriate for all, those who need to bootstrap and build their business the hard way will benefit the most.

1. Download a Profile of Your Industry The factsheets, reports and guides from Scavenger are essential reading material for anyone starting up a business in the UK. The Business Opportunity Profiles are downloadable reports on specific UK industries. With over 800 reports in total, the range includes everything from ‘Children’s Day Nursery’ profiles to ‘Coffee Shop’ profiles to a profile on ‘Wedding Planners’.

Where: www.scavenger.net Cost: Individual reports cost around £5.

To help you to write your business plan…

2. Download Business Planning Software When you start up it is important to write a business plan to ensure you adequately plan the future of your business. The very process of creating a plan is beneficial, not least because it forces you to take a holistic view of your company. Business Plan Pro® is the best-selling business-planning software available. It is easy to use, saves time, and has over 500 sample

plans to get you started. It is also available via download so you can get instant access to it and hence pay no postage and packing.

Where: Business Plan Pro is available from www.paloalto.co.uk Cost: RRP is only £79.99 for the Standard version and £129.99 for the Premier.

Once you are ready to go…

3. Set up Your Company Accounts One of the big challenges start-up companies face is managing cash flow. Insolvency is one of the main causes of failure for entrepreneurs in the UK. However, with some careful and appropriate financial planning, cash crunches can be avoided. While this in itself is an important reason for buying a bookkeeping package, there are countless other reasons ranging from the ability to manage invoices through to managing payroll. The two main recommended introductory packages are QuickBooks® Simple Start from Intuit® and Sage® Instant Accounts. View online demos before you make a purchase.

Where: www.sage.co.uk and www.quickbooks.co.uk Cost: From £43.97 at www.amazon.co.uk Getting Started…

4. Save Costs on Your Infrastructure Using applications such as Skype together with a headset, it is now possible to make telephone calls from your computer at a very low cost.

There is no need to commit to a monthly phone contract with line rental. Instead you can just pay as you go. You can also obtain a Skype number so people can call you back. However it is recommended that all start-up businesses do have at least one fixed line number they can be contacted on. Finally, you should also consider getting a portable number that is easy to transfer if you move offices.

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

23

Where: www.skype.co.uk Cost: Free 5. Protect Your Computer Once you connect to the Internet, it is important to ensure you have adequate protection in the form of anti-virus software. Many computers these days come with anti-virus software installed already. If not, you should consider downloading Ad-Aware from Lavasoft and AVG anti-virus from GRISOFT. These products are either free or reasonably priced, and are very effective. Finally, it is also recommended that you backup your data to an external hard drive such as those manufactured by Maxtor.

Where: www.lavasoft.com, www.grisoft.com and www.maxtor.com Cost: Free (The cost of Maxtor is dependent on GB size).

6. Explore Google Google is famous for being the world’s favourite search engine. Additionally, there are a growing number of online applications owned or developed by Google that are ideal aids when setting up a new business. Google AdWords are the little adverts you see alongside search returns when you search in Google. These are a great way to attract customers at a low cost.

Google Desktop enables you to search all the files and folders on your computer so you can track down any stored information at the click of a button. Both are very useful applications in helping you to market your business and to manage your internal data.

Where: www.google.co.uk Cost: Free (AdWord prices vary).

Summary and conclusion…

Starting up a business is never easy given the wide range of ‘things’ that need to get done and the costs that have to be paid out before you start. However, the Internet has helped bring down the cost of starting up and has also made it easier to set up, thereby providing the entrepreneur with access to a wide range of different products, services and market research from the comfort of their desks. Finally, don’t forget to use your local business link to help get you started!

Alan Gleeson is the Managing Director of Palo Alto Software Ltd, creators of Business Plan Pro®. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and is a graduate of University College, Cork, Ireland.

For further information on starting up in general and business planning in particular visit www.bplans.co.uk and www.paloalto.co.uk

24

business planning

Is your company too small to outsource offshore?

by Washington Kapapiro

O

utsourcing offshore (or offshoring) has been viewed as a reserve for large enterprises who can afford to operate internationally. Outsourcing is contracting another company to carry out various business operations on your behalf.

This is usually motivated by a lack of in house expertise. However, offshoring takes outsourcing beyond geographic boarders, usually going to China or India. This is largely motivated by cheaper labour costs.

Large companies identified the advantages and quickly began to close down many of their UK operations in a bid to reduce overheads. You may have experienced offshoring by perhaps calling customer services for a UK company only for the call to be answered by someone in India.

The opportunity is now available to smaller companies and sole traders to take advantage of offshoring and the cost benefits it presents.

With the vast developments in internet accessibility in the UK, staying in touch with your offshore work force has never been easier. Many offshore operations use internet telephony to communicate which comes with the added advantage of being free. You can also use services such as Skype to meet face to face with your offshore workforce. Offshoring with India has particularly improved in recent months since most offshoring agencies are shifting from unskilled laborers to well spoken, educated and experienced consultants. I spoke to Mr. Gerald Nechironga, CEO of M-Net Global Solutions, an offshoring organisation with call centers in India. Gerald said, “We have been on the phone as customers, with a consultant in India somewhere who has not had a full command of the English language and the call has been traumatic for both parties. So we know the importance of making sure only well-spoken and degree-qualified consultants work in our call centers.” M-Net Global Solutions is the leading Offshoring Consultancy servicing SMEs in the UK market. With head offices in London, all their billing and account management happens closer to the customers and only the operations are offshore.

Offshoring also presents a way for small and large businesses to grow organically through allowing the business owner to concentrate on core business functions, outsourcing non-core operations. “Offshoring allows an architect to be an architect and web-developer to be a web-developer and not become a telesales consultant, a customer services consultant and 24/7 support centre consultant simultaneously,” said Gerald.

“Offshoring essentially allows a business to

have all the various departments that a larger organisation might afford to have in house, at a fraction of the cost; allowing the business to be more competitive without costs spiraling out of control.”

The costs of labour are particularly high in the UK with a minimum wage of £5.93 per hour for unskilled labour. Along with other legislative obligations, the cost of labour far exceeds most SMEs’ budgets. It is difficult trying to start a new business with little money in the bank. That coupled with a hard-hitting recession, the risk of recruiting in-house professionals can often result in the business failing to survive in its formative years. The solution has tended to be to keep your business small enough to allow the business owner to carry out all the operations.

However, this has meant that many SMEs have failed to grow and become more profitable. The emergence of offshoring as a real and viable alternative for SMEs in the UK market means there is now an option that can result in increased productivity and more SME growth. The process of identifying an offshoring agency has been simplified by M-Net Global Solutions. Their primary operations are UK based, eliminating issues around time-zone differences. They offer a free telephone consultation to assess your needs and provide a quotation based on your requirements. Once agreed, they will set up your services at a nominal fee. This will include assigning a dedicated manager, recruiting your team and setting up systems to carry out your specific operations plus training and orientation of your offshore workforce.

A start date is set and once you are satisfied that the workforce has a clear understanding of your requirements, the service will commence.

Payments of the service can be hourly, monthly or on a contract basis. Payments are made in the UK, avoiding extra charges. Within a short space of time, a newly started one-man-band can develop a customer services department and a technical support department at the cost of perhaps hiring one employee; increasing operations as though you have hired an entire workforce. I recommend trying offshoring today to reap the benefits previously enjoyed by large organisations alone.

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

BUSIneSS PLAnnInG

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Five reasons why you need a business plan!

by Alan Gleeson

W

hen I am asked to explain why business planning is so important, my first inclination

is to quote Lewis Carroll. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice comes to a fork in the road and asks:

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where --” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. For me this scene encapsulates perfectly the problems of not having an over-arching goal and plan for your business. Without a plan, a business is essentially rudderless, and day-today activities are likely to be haphazard and reactive, in stark contrast to those businesses implementing a well thought out business plan.

The following represents a list of my top five reasons a firm needs a business plan.

1. To map the future A business plan is not just required to secure funding at the start-up phase, but is a vital aid to help you manage your business more effectively. By committing your thoughts to paper, you can understand your business better and also chart specific courses of action that need to be taken to improve your business. A plan can detail alternative future scenarios and set specific objectives and goals along with the resources required to achieve these goals.

By understanding your business and the market a little better and planning how best to operate within this environment, you will be well placed to ensure your long-term success.

and Loss Statements, along with an up-to-date business plan. In essence the former helps investors understand the past, whereas the business plan helps give them a window on the future.

When seeking investment in your business, it is important to clearly describe the opportunity, as investors will want to know why they would be better off investing in your business, rather than leaving money in a bank account or investing in another business. They would also want to know what the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for the business arising from the opportunity is and reasons why people will part with their cash to buy from your business.

A well-written business plan can help you convey these points to prospective investors, helping them feel confident in you and in the thoroughness with which you have considered future scenarios. The most crucial component for them will be clear evidence of the company’s future ability to generate sufficient cash flows to meet debt obligations, while enabling the business to operate effectively.

3. To develop and communicate a course of action A business plan helps a company assess future opportunities and commit to a particular course of action. By committing the plan to paper, all other options are effectively marginalized and the company is aligned to focus on key activities.

The plan can assign milestones to specific individuals and ultimately help management to monitor progress. Once written, a plan can be disseminated quickly and will also prompt further questions and feedback by the readers helping to ensure a more collaborative plan is produced.

2. To support growth and secure funding

4. To help manage cash flow

Most businesses face investment decisions during the course of their lifetime. Often, these opportunities cannot be funded by free cash flows alone, and the business must seek external funding. However, despite the fact that the market for funding is highly competitive, all prospective lenders will require access to the company’s recent Income Statements/Profit

Careful management of cash flow is a fundamental requirement for all businesses.

The reason is quite simple – many businesses fail, not because they are unprofitable, but because they ultimately become insolvent (i.e. are unable to pay their debts as they fall due).

While the break-even point - where total revenue equals total costs – is a highly important figure

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for start-ups, once a business is up and running profitably it becomes less important.

Cash flow management then becomes more vital when businesses pursue investment opportunities where there are significant cash out flows, in advance of the cash flows coming in. These opportunities need to be assessed against any seasonal variations in the business and the timing of the flows. If you are a ‘cashonly’ business, you can bank the income immediately; however, if you sell on credit, you receive the cash in the future and hence may need to pay some of your own expenses before that income hits your account. This will put a further strain on the company’s solvency and hence a well structured business plan will help you manage funding requirements in advance.

5. To support a strategic exit Finally, at some point, the owners of the firm will decide it is time to exit. Considering the likely exit strategy in advance can help inform and direct present day decisions. The aim is to liquidate the investment, so the owner/current investors have the option of cashing out when they want.

Common exit strategies include: Initial Public Offering of stock (IPO’s), acquisition by competitors, mergers, and family succession and management buy-outs.

Investment decisions can be taken in the present with one eye on the future via a wellthought-out business plan. For example, if the most attractive exit route appeared to be selling to a competitor, present day management and investment decisions could focus on activities that would increase the company’s attractiveness to that competitor.

Given that valuing firms is notoriously difficult and subjective, a well-written plan will clearly highlight the opportunity for the incoming investors, the value of it and increase the likelihood of a successful exit by the current owner.

If you would like further information on business planning visit www.bplans.co.uk & www.paloalto.co.uk

Small Talk... Small Talk... Small Talk... Small Talk... Small Talk...

Business tips

Did you know that:

Selling products or services to government bodies is a significant opportunity for all businesses – each year the public sector spends around £220 billion on goods and services. The government is committed to helping small and medium-sized businesses compete successfully for public sector contracts. Public sector bodies ranging from central government departments, devolved authorities and the NHS to local authorities and the armed forces all place orders with businesses, so there may be contracts of interest to you. Public sector organisations can make good customers.

They have to employ tendering processes that are transparent, provide essential information to potential suppliers and ensure a fair chance for small businesses. They also have to be fair and honest in the way they choose suppliers and pay promptly within agreed contract terms.

All businesses (including small and medium-sized enterprises) have a wide range of opportunities to sell to public sector organisations. Whether you sell stationery, office furniture, medical supplies, IT equipment, catering services, training courses or other services, there’s likely to be a market for your product or service within government. There are also opportunities for subcontractors to benefit from high-value public sector contracts that have been won by other larger businesses.

www.CompeteFor.com is the chosen website of London 2012 for the publication of Games-related contract opportunities. CompeteFor is a free service that enables businesses to compete for contract opportunities linked to the London 2012 Games and other major public and private sector buying organisations.

With a particular focus on supply chain opportunities, CompeteFor acts as a brokerage service, matching buyers with potential suppliers. It also facilitates access to focused business support, through the national Business Link network, helping to boost the long–term competitiveness of your business.

Any business can register on CompeteFor. It’s easy, free of charge, and only needs to be done once to access thousands of contract opportunities.

First you will need to register the basic details of your business to create a user account. This will allow you to view opportunities and gain access to relevant business news and events. To apply for contracts advertised on CompeteFor, you must complete and publish a full business profile. Once published, your business profile will be used to match your business with contract opportunities you can then apply for. You can also use CompeteFor to search for suitable businesses to partner with.

Registering on CompeteFor will bring you closer to accessing new business opportunities relevant to your sector. This service is delivered through a partnership between public and private sector organisations, working closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

Statutory paternity leave If you are a father-to-be or you and the mother are to be responsible for bringing up a child, you could have the right to Statutory Paternity Leave.

You may also qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay. Some employers have their own paternity leave arrangements which are more generous than the statutory entitlement. You do not have a legal right to time off to accompany your partner to antenatal appointments. The right to paid time off only applies to pregnant employees. However, many companies recognize this is an important time and allow employees to take paid time off or make up the time later.

To qualify for Statutory Paternity Leave you must be an employee.

You must be taking the time off to support the mother or carer for the baby and intend to be fully involved in their upbringing. Rights to Statutory Paternity Leave are extra to your normal holiday allowance.

To qualify for Statutory Paternity Leave, you must have been with your employer for at least 26 weeks by either: the end of the 15th week before the start of the week when the baby is due or the end of the week you are notified you are matched with your child You must also be either the: biological father of the child, mother’s husband or partner (including same-sex relationships), child’s adopter, or husband or partner (including same-sex relationships) of the child’s adopter.

If you are an agency worker, office holder or subcontractor, you will not normally have the right to Statutory Paternity Leave. However, you may be eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay. For more information visit: www.direct.gov.uk

Dragons’ Den If you’ve got what it takes to do battle with the likes of Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis, James Caan and Deborah Meaden, then you’ll be pleased to know that Dragons’ Den is looking for some fresh blood for its eighth season.

The production team wants to find ‘business ideas, inventions or products with serious business potential that are investment-ready and looking for funding’.

In the most recent series of the programme, in which entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to five investors, 15 business owners received offers of investment, while others have succeeded in bringing their products to market without the backing of the ‘dragons’.

This year the AAOE (UK) is committed to seeing more African entrepreneurs go up against the Dragons and we will be offering support for entrepreneurs entering the show. So if you have the inspiration and bravery to take a grilling from the fire-breathing multi-millionaires, the BBC would like to hear from you via the Dragons’ Den website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/apply/

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

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Remit or not remit?

That is the question…

Sam Mendelson

D

iaspora remittances to developing countries have exploded over the past decade. Worldwide, US$265bn flowed to the developing nations through remittances in 2007, surpassing official global development aid by 60 percent according to the World Bank. The figure for 2009 was close to $300bn, as the migrant millions who have left poor countries to start a life in more developed societies, send money back to families and communities left behind.

Africa is no exception. In 2007, slightly less than three-quarters of remittances to subSaharan Africa were sent from the United States and Western Europe, while the rest were sent from Gulf States, other developed countries and developing countries. It’s serious money.

That year, Nigeria received $3.3bn, followed by Kenya with $1.3bn and Senegal with $900m.

Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa have been rising steadily sletmince 1995, with the region taking in $19bn in remittances in 2007, or 2.5 percent of GDP. The African Diaspora currently consists of more than thirty million individuals living outside their countries of origin. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) estimates that these migrants jointly contribute about $40bn in remittances to their families and communities back home every

year. Millions of Africans depend on money being sent from greener pastures abroad.

Increasingly, some members of the Diaspora are wondering whether remitting funds is causing more harm than good. As the International Migrants Remittances Observatory (IMRO) notes, “Remittances are sent to countries of origin for short-term (or emergency) assistance, in order to meet family needs (food, health and education for instance). A minor part of these funds contributes directly to the development of economic activities such as building houses or funding income generating activities.”

As Africa’s development has lagged behind other developing regions over the past decades, Diaspora members are increasingly looking for ways to support their countries of origin, and invest sustainably in their long-term economic development.

John, a 47-year old Nigerian father of three, lives in Elephant and Castle in south London.

He and his wife emigrated to the UK over twenty years ago from Lagos, and he began work as a tailor’s apprentice.

With hard work, natural talent and a keen business eye, he opened his own shop, which flourished a few years later. After a series of steady expansions and some creative market research, he is now a respected community

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leader and a successful businessman - owning five shops and employing 16 people. He sends £750 a month back to Nigeria, for his mother, two brothers, his sister and their children.

Frustrated at the lack of effect this money has on their livelihoods and conscious of the evils of rampant welfarism; he wants to find a new way to use his surplus income to support Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular.

Two recent events have brought the issue of Diaspora investment in Africa into sharper focus: the Africa-Middle East microcredit summit, held in Nairobi from 7-10 April, and the long awaited launch by the IMRO of a microfinance investment vehicle - the World Diaspora Fund (WDF).

The summit – a gathering of 2000 of the leading practitioners, observers, investors, fund managers and commentators on African development, highlighted the multitude of ways people can invest in Africa – from donations to soft loans, to high-return, high risk investments.

The Internet has also opened up countless avenues for those with a social conscience, and genuine interest in the support of African nations, their communities, and their entrepreneurs. P2P and B2B web-based organisations like Kiva.org, MyC4.com and MoneyPlace.com have made investment in Africa’s greatest natural resources

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– its people – both easy and rewarding. To paraphrase the old adage, give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish; you feed him for a lifetime. But invest in an institution which will lend him money to buy an extra rod, hire an employee and set up a market stall, and you have created a small business.

Kiva.org was the first website for individual loans to microenterprises in the developing world, and has been an astonishing success.

On April 8, 2010, it passed $130m lent, in only four years since its launch. Hundreds of thousands of microentrepreneurs have been provided loans by hundreds of thousands of lenders – many lending as little as $25, interestfree. Kiva lends the money interest-free to its microfinance institution (MFI) partners around the world, who on-lend to microentrepreneurs.

Kiva’s ‘Fellow’ programme allows for careful auditing of MFIs before partnership. It is this, above all, which has led to the extremely low delinquency rate.

Kiva provides no financial returns for lenders – it is at the social end of the social-financial investment spectrum. But there is no shortage of people willing to lend, and doing so is repeatedly described by lenders as addictive.

People can choose to lend to men or women, to people in agriculture or retail or industry, or can select solely by region. Seeing someone benefit from a loan, pay it back, and then being able to re-lend the money to someone else, is an innovative way to affect lives in Africa.

Kiva.org is not alone. MicroPlace.com is a web gateway for social lending to microentrepreneurs, but the loans have a soft financial return too – with lenders typically earning 2-5% on their loan. MYC4 is a Danish company which matches lenders with SMEs in Africa, supporting what the organisation refers to as “the missing middle” - the small-to-medium African businesses unable to get growth capital from mainstream financial institutions. It too, offers a financial as well as a social return.

Beyond web-based lending, existing remittance models can and should remain – but they can improve. Remitting to MFIs or encouraging remittances to be deposited in institutions is an important path to financial independence.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) notes in the 2009 report Sending Money Home to Africa, “The rapid rise of MFIs is a powerful testimony to the ability of the underserved to mobilise their resources in a way that stimulates local development. When remittances are deposited at a financial institution they can benefit both the individual and the community. With better financial education and a broader range of financial services to choose from, remittance recipients are empowered to

make the financial choices that can advance them towards financial independence”.

Between 30 and 40 per cent of all remittances to Africa are destined to rural areas where many recipients have to travel great distances to collect their cash. According to IFAD, simply by expanding the kinds of institutions able to conduct remittances services to include microfinance institutions and post offices, the number of payment points would more than double. Clearly, then, remittances can be made to work better than they already do.

Beyond remittances, there are several other ways for the Diaspora businessperson to invest in Africa. April 2010, as well as the microcredit summit, in Geneva there was the creation of the World Diaspora Fund by the Working Group of the International Migrants Remittances Observatory for Least Developed Countries (IMRO), in partnership with several public and private organisations.

According to IMRO, the fund is “intended to offer migrants a secure investment vehicle that will contribute to the development of their countries of origin.” WDF will invest through loans, guarantees and through stakes in microfinance institutions (MFIs). It also intends to provide migrant investors with a “fair” monetary return.

Funds to invest in MFIs aren’t totally new (see diagram) – and even 2006 figures show the various paths for investment.

Blue Orchard (BO) – also based in Switzerland – is the world’s best known and largest commercial microfinance investment

There is, of course, much to be said for remitting money home to extended families... it is an understandable matter of pride for a businessman based in Europe to be able to show he’s ‘made it’. fund, with over $1.2bn in its loan portfolio. BO is double bottom line – it provides a social and financial return for investors but leans to the latter, considering commercial investments in the microfinance sector “necessary and beneficial”.

BO isn’t a speculator. It invests in only about 3% of the MFIs it investigates, and each has at least two to three years of audited accounts,

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

ambassador finance

Source: CGAP survey 2006

minimum assets of $1m, and a good vision towards operational self-sufficiency. As JeanPhilippe de Schrebel – CEO of Blue Orchard investments and Bamboo Finance’s Oasis Fund – described at the summit in Nairobi, the loan amount never exceeds 15-20% of the total assets of the MFI. Divested funding is the key to sustainability of any MFI. Interest rates are typically USD Libor + 4-8%, and investment can include debt or equity.

Matteo Marinelli, an Investment Analyst on the Debt side of Blue Orchard, points to BO’s long-term approach. “We’re interested to expand more on the retail investor side. The lowest amount one can invest is €10000 in the Dexia fund – but what attracts the individual investor is seeing a track record of twelve years in the market”.

BO started with family offices, but is now shifting to more institutional clients. However, the retail investor could be very interesting to target further in the future.

“The strategy is not to make a quick buck,” Marinelli says. “For us, it’s a buy-andhold investment. Before the economic crisis, we had some money market funds but now we are family offices and high net worth individuals”. Blue Orchard’s social objective requires patience and a longterm view.

There are vehicles also for the individual with a significant but smaller sum at their disposal, and who wishes to socially invest. Some have more of a social component to investment – but which are nevertheless tailored for private individual or institutional investors seeking a sustainable – if soft, return. Nordic Microcap (NMC) is part of the Nordic House of Microfinance, based in Uppsala, Sweden, and is a venture capital company for investment in 14 African MFIs. Minimum investment is 500 shares, or the equivalent of at least e50,000.

The investment period is a closed end, and runs up to and including January 2017. At maturity, the outstanding share capital is paid out. During the lifetime of a share, the company’s excess cash flow – i.e. revenue minus costs – will be paid out as dividends once a year, as and when they arise.

As of late 2009, NMC had invested approximately e15m to grow expanding MFIs into full-scale banks, giving more poor people access to financial services. As its

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Chief Executive, Lars-Olof Hellgren says: “There are hundreds of millions of people who lack access to basic financial services. But they can get out of poverty by hard work and making use of the opportunities offered by microfinance banks. As responsible investors we can meet these needs, and I can’t think of anything that has a better financial and social return”.

All of this innovation is good news. Xavier Reille, lead Microfinance Specialist at Consultative Group to Assist the Poor says, “This new investment stream is good news for microfinance providers. Microfinance needs a broader capital market to secure the funding required to scale-up outreach and serve a greater number of financially excluded, lowincome people”.

Finally, there are plenty of non-financial ways Diaspora members can have a positive effect, outside of donation or investment in institutions.

Victor Anjeh, managing partner of Touchstone Ventures Group, puts it well, writing on his blog, K7: “The Diaspora community must learn how to deploy its knowledge base, and pool the intellectual and capital resources of its global network. We should do this to facilitate foreign direct investment in income and employment generating sectors of the local economy. We should also learn to engage home country authorities to promote good governance (in a non adversarial context), and to create an inviting business environment for Diaspora participation”.

What is clear is that there are many ways John and the many others like him can support Nigeria or their other communities back in Africa. There is, of course, much to be said for remitting money home to extended families – and it is an understandable matter of pride for a businessman based in Europe to be able to show he’s “made it”. There is no evil in generosity.

However, sending money for consumption does little if anything to stimulate economic growth, or to contribute to the development of a country. Africa’s perhaps greatest affliction is the dearth of a vibrant small business or SME sector. By investing in MFIs, or directly in their microentrepreneur clients, the Diaspora can make a genuine difference to individuals and, because of the democratising and empowering force that a vibrant small business sector can be – begin to improve the governance of a continent that has been far too long left behind.

Sam Mendelson is a Microfinance Consultant, a former program director of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation and a freelance journalist.

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Beginners guide to Inheritance Tax

by Ronald Olufunwa, Partner, Westminster Wealth Management LLP

“...in addition to the £325,000 nil rate band available on each estate, transfers between husband and wife or between civil partners are tax free.”

T

his guide is designed to outline what Inheritance Tax (IHT) is, how it concerns you, how it works and also introduces some of the allowances you can use to help mitigate its effects on your estate and your loved ones.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable when someone transfers ownership of their assets, upon death. Each individual is entitled to an IHT allowance, called a ‘nil rate band’, under which no IHT is payable. In the past, very few estates have exceeded this nil rate band and thus IHT has traditionally been seen as a tax only for the very wealthy. However, many people still falsely believe they don’t have an estate worthy of inheritance tax planning, until they realize the value of their estate on death is boosted not just by the value of their residential home but also their death-in-service benefit, shares, ISAs, foreign homes and less obvious assets such as paintings or cars. With a current nil rate band threshold of £325,000 (£650,000 for married couples), more and more people are finding themselves caught in the trap. In addition the Chancellor has frozen the Nil rate band for the

next four years meaning more and more people will be caught by inheritance tax. This could lead to many people having to sell long-held family property, heirlooms or investment assets to meet tax bills which a little bit of planning could help avoid.

The IHT rate for all assets over the nil rate band is 40%. As a business owner you may be unaware that IHT is potentially payable on all UK assets, and all worldwide assets if you are deemed UK domicile (i.e. have lived in the UK for at least 17 out of 20 years) Although the government closed many of the loopholes on Inheritance Tax in previous budgets, a number of exemptions and allowances do remain. Where possible, you should aim to maximize use of these exemptions and allowances if you wish to pass as much of your hard-earned cash onto your heirs as possible.

With regard to inter spousal transfers, in addition to the £325,000 nil rate band available on each estate, transfers between husband and wife or between civil partners are tax free.

Since 9 October 2007, such legally recognized

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partners can also pass over any unused portion of their own £325,000 nil rate band so that, in effect, the surviving spouse has up to £650,000.

However, this does not apply to cohabiters or ‘common-law’ spouses.

The practice of gifting some of your wealth prior to death is termed ‘potentially exempt transfer’ (PET) for IHT purposes, potentially exempt, because, from the day you give them away, the tax due on death is subject to a tapering over 7 years, starting at 100% of liability for the first three years then falling proportionally from 80% to zero over the following four years, i.e. if you survive the full seven years, the IHT liability on that asset is zero. This taper relief applies to amounts in excess of the nil rate band.

As there is no tax due on the first £325,000, if you do survive seven years, then that amount is considered as having left your estate and you therefore get the chance to benefit from the nil rate band allowance a second time.

However, there is an important restriction on PETs called a ‘gift with reservation of benefit’.

The principle is that if you continue to enjoy the benefit of an asset the transfer is entirely ineffective for inheritance tax purposes. This is in place to stop people simply transferring their homes to their children and continuing to live in them. In order for this to be potentially exempt, a full market rent would have to be paid to the children after transfer.

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Gifts of £3,000 or less are allowed annually without being liable for IHT – and if unused, this allowance can be carried forward for one year.

There is also a gift exemption applying to ‘regular gifts out of income’. These gifts can be as much as you like, but they must form part of a ‘pattern of giving’ and the Inland Revenue must be satisfied that after the gift has been made, you are left with sufficient income to maintain your standard of living.

You are also allowed gifts on consideration of marriage or civil partnership. The amounts vary according to your relationship to the bride and groom – at the moment, £5,000 is allowed from the parents, £2,500 from the grandparents and £1,000 by anyone else. Gifts to charities also fall outside inheritance tax.

Ensure you make full yet practical use of your allowances and exemptions; there are some basic steps you can take. Planning ahead is very important.

Step One – The basics Making a will is vital. If you die without a will, your estate will be divided according to the rules of intestacy. This is particularly important if you are not married, or remarry because you would be unlikely to inherit a ‘common law’ partner’s money, or even their share of your house. For example, under the laws of England & Wales (the Administration of Estate Act 1925) your legal spouse will receive £125,000 plus a life interest in half the remainder of the estate and your children will get the balance at 18. If you have no children, £200,000 passes to your spouse and the remainder to your parents or siblings. If you have no spouse, it will pass to your parents or then your siblings. If you have no legally recognized family, it goes straight to the Crown. Financial advantages aside, one shouldn’t underestimate the emotional value in saving your loved ones the distress of guessing your burial wishes, i.e. should you be laid to rest in the UK or “back home”.

Step Two – Use your allowances The basic allowances available have already been outlined above. Considering how you can use these in advance will help you manage the assets and any cash flow associated with a ‘pattern of giving’. In addition, if you can start giving away some of your assets as PETs when you are still in robust health and likely to live another 7 years, it will save you worry nearer the time.

An invaluable relief to African business owners is Business Property Relief which reduces the chargeable value of IHT by 50 -100% depending on the type of business that is run. It is important that the business is held for at least two years prior to transfer in life or death and that the

business does not hold excessive amounts of cash i.e. greater than 15% – as this could invalidate your business property relief.

Step Three – Using trusts Under the present regime, it is still possible to set up trusts with inheritance tax advantages for sums below the nil rate band. Transfers into most trusts over the donor’s nil rate band are now immediately liable to lifetime inheritance tax charge of half the IHT tax i.e. 20%. These trusts are also liable to a periodic charge every ten years and an ‘exit’ charge when funds are taken out of the trust. However, in spite these charges, these trusts are still useful because they allow for the ‘regeneration’ of the nil rate band every seven years. If a donor has put money into one of these trusts, they will pay the 20% tax on anything above the current nil rate band of £325,000. If the donor dies within seven years, taper relief will apply to the balance of the full 40% IHT due after three years. If they survive seven years, the donor will have the chance to use their nil rate band again.

Step Four – Consider life assurance IHT becomes payable relatively quickly. It is due six months after the end of the month of death.

This doesn’t give the administrators much time to, say, sell a house, or liquidate other assets. Life assurance can be a useful way to accumulate enough money to pay your inheritance tax bill and when placed in trust (and funded from regular income as part of a ‘pattern of giving’), is also free from inheritance tax – i.e. you do not create an additional IHT burden because the trust keeps that lump sum payment out of your estate. This can be particularly useful from a liquidity point of view, as the lump sum will be readily available to your beneficiaries to pay the taxes whilst the estate itself is being unwound.

An invaluable relief to African business owners is Business Property Relief which reduces the chargeable value of IHT by 50 -100% depending on the type of business that is run.

For further information: For a comprehensive free beginners guide to IHT, or to access a nationwide network of professionals will writers please email us on advice@westminsterwealth.com. If you would like to discuss any of the points raised and/or review your Estate planning, please do not hesitate to contact Ronald Olufunwa on 020 7400 5873.

Ronald Olufunwa, Partner, Westminster Wealth Management LLP

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

ambassador travel

Business tourism is good for African businesses Mary Tebje

T

he 2010 FIFA World Cup has put the spotlight firmly on Africa, not least of all South Africa. The expectation barometer is set at maximum, and unfortunately, due to the European habit of putting every African country in together, this applies to the continent as well.

This is not an article on the World Cup, but business tourism and the economic impact it can have on a destination and wider region. The two have however, become intertwined – the latter as an integral part of the hoped-for legacy that should live on once the fans have gone home. The real benefit from a successful World Cup, according to South African Tourism will be in how it builds the image and identity of South Africa worldwide, and its value as a business tourism destination.

The travel industry will not fully recover from the global economic slump until 2011, maybe even 2012. In the latest annual research results, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) emphasised the importance of travel as a component of global economic growth over the past two decades, but also illustrated the impact of the recent recession on demand. In a macroeconomic sense, world GDP fell by 2.1% during 2009, with developed economies – a major source of demand for business and leisure travel – the most severely affected. Some 235 million people are employed in travel and tourism worldwide, which is estimated to be 8.2% of all employment, which generated 9.4% of world GDP. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, travel and tourism economy GDP is the

broadest measure of the economic contribution of the travel and tourism sector to GDP. It records the activity of traditional travel and tourism providers (e.g. lodging, transportation, etc), plus tourism-related investment, public spending and export of goods. It includes both the direct effects and the indirect effects via the supply chain of travel and tourism spending.

There is not much data available for individual countries or regions; except for North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia), and South Africa, which is the destination with the most developed business tourism product on the continent. A broad-brush estimate of worth therefore for Africa could be in the region of 8 – 11% of GDP and 1:10 jobs created.

According to the WTTC, travel and tourism economy employment comprises the jobs generated by travel and tourism economy GDP, the broadest measure of travel and tourism’s employment impact.

So what is business tourism? It is not business travel; this is conducted by individual businesses, which is difficult and not cost-effective to track and to market in a targeted fashion. Business men and women will travel to particular cities or destinations because that is where their business happens to be – they do not choose where they are going.

Business tourism on the other hand, comprises a trip undertaken for the purpose of attending a conference, meeting, exhibition or event, or as part of an incentive.

What should make the public sector sit up and take notice is that business tourism

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

35

generates three times as much revenue as any leisure visitor does and has the added benefit of delegates often returning as a leisure visitor with family or friends. The returns on investment have the potential to be far-reaching and inclusive; as any professional destination manager will know how to include not only the big anchors, such as accommodation providers, but also the smaller businesses that are often bestplaced to provide support services to enhance the uniqueness of the overall offer.

For a destination to be successful, sunshine goes a long way, and the basic ingredients should include: infrastructure, a conference centre, a wide range of quality-graded accommodation stock, a robust calendar of trade events, excellent international and regional transport links; established travel trade programmes and support and of course product to delight and surprise delegates, such as shopping and sightseeing.

All of these must be packaged and offered as value for money propositions in what is a highly competitive and demanding global market.

There are some obvious beneficiaries including airlines; Kenya Airways scooped the prize for ‘Best Business Airline’ at the Africa Investor Tourism Awards (2010), large hotels and resorts and tour operators. Some of the not-so-obvious beneficiaries include businesses supplying print, web design, laundry, catering equipment, translation services; tour guides, retail, creative industries and food producers to name but a few.

Although the business travel market has been badly affected by the recession, in the long term, the WT&TC forecasts that the travel and tourism economy is forecast to grow by 4.4% per annum in real terms between 2010 and 2020, supporting over 300 million jobs by 2020. This accounts for up to 9.2% of all jobs and 9.6% of global GDP. From a list of business travel destinations to watch in the next few years, South Africa is the only African country to make the top ten, along with Brazil, Abu Dhabi and Slovenia amongst others. What scope is there to add other African countries to this list?

The author, Mary Tebje is a tourism professional who has worked in the industry providing strategic marketing communications, destination management, travel trade and PR consultancy services to the tourism and hospitality industry for both public and private sectors.

Mary Tebje Director of MTA Tourism Leisure.

Website: www.tourismleisure.co.uk For more information contact mary@ tourismleisure.com

36

ambassador style

Best places to build a dazzling corporate wardrobe

by Flavilla Fongang A great corporate wardrobe can make all the difference. We have selected a selection of brands and outlets that offer a great selection of quality clothes at affordable prices.

3 Colours Rule tip of the month If, when shaking hands, the other person has to touch your cuff or your sleeve, then they are too long.

Have them shortened. Good dry cleaners will do this. If you have really short arms, gets your shirts made. This does not cost any more than bought shirts. Lots of handmade shirts cost less than £50.

Jermyn Street If you are looking for the best bespoke shirt makers, this is where you need to be. The seekers of elegance will come here to find the following brands: Alfred Dunhill, Budd Ltd, Charles Tyrwhitt, DAKS, Emmett Shirts, Favourbrook, Hackett, Hawes & Curtis, Hilditch & Key, New & Lingwood, Roderick Charles, Swaine Adeney Brigg, T.M. Lewin & Sons, and Thomas Pink.

(Tube station: Green Park or Piccadilly Circus, Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX) www.jermynstreet.net

Reiss (collection for men & women) Reiss is one of the brands that has the savoir faire and has designed great suits which will make you stand out from the crowd. If you need to have one suit, have one from Reiss.

Best location: 78-79 New Bond Street W1Y 9BD (Tube Station: Bond Street) www.reiss.co.uk

Marks & Spencer (collection for men & women) Marks & Spencer has managed to revamp itself to attract a younger crowd and it worked. With dazzling collections you are sure to find something you will like. They offer made to measure shirts, a collection for big & tall men, Blue Arbour & Autograph which is a range of casual wear and Collezione Italian for formal wear. The quality is as good as the pricing.

Best location: Marble Arch, 458 Oxford Street, London, W1C 1AP (Tube station: Marble Arch) www.marksandspencer.com

TM Lewin (collection for men & women) This brand offers a large range of formal shirts: classic fit, slim fit, patterns and John Francomb shirts.

Tube Station: Holborn Best location: 19 Holborn London EC1N 2JS www.tmlewin.co.uk

Thomas Pink (collection for men & women) This brand is well known on Jermyn Street. If you are looking for classic look Thomas Pink offers a great range of formal & casual work wear. They also offer a customised online tie service for people looking for exclusiveness.

Best location: Jermyn Street, 85 Jermyn Street. London, SW1Y 6JD, UK or Westfield London, Unit 1010, Ariel Way, London, W12 7GB, UK www.thomaspink.com

Next (collection for men & women) If you are on a very small budget, Next offers very affordable suits. Their collection is composed of ready-to-wear suits, tailored suits, linen suits, slim fit, the city collection, signature suits, Italian suits, look the business, wool suits, occasional wear and more.

Best location: 11 The Strand, London, WC2N 5HR (Tube station: St James’s Park) www.next.co.uk

Tailor Store (collection for men) Get your made to measure shirt on this website at a very affordable price (starting from £29.95) www.tailorstore.co.uk

Dressed to kill (collection for men) Moss Bros (collection for men) This brand is ideal for tall men looking for affordable and trendy suits.

Best location: 27 King Street, WC2E 8JD (Tube Station: Covent Garden) www.moss.co.uk

If you are not looking to spend too much money on a classic look suit, dress to kill is for you. Here you can find suits for less than £500.

Best location: Dress2kill Waterloo 47 The Cut, London SE1 8LF (Tube Station: Southwark) www.dress2kill.com

Note on the writer Style section was written by Flavilla Fongang, the founder of 3 Colours Rule, the image consultancy. She is from Paris.

Her strengths are her positive & bubbly personality, her efficient image coaching, and her highly energetic & motivational approach.

She has worked with top business people and has a great understanding of style & the fashion industry. She is highly educated, culturally open-minded, and developed her international experience while working in Africa, the Middle East, North America and Europe. Together with her professional experience, it puts her in the fast lane to bring value added coaching and image development services for individuals and corporations.

Contact 3 Colours Rule – Image Consultancy Tel: 020 3016 7811 Email: Flavilla@3coloursrule.com Website: www.3coloursrule.com Blog: 3coloursrule.blogspot.com Find us on Facebook, twitter & Linkedin

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

AMBASSADoR StYLe

37

7 items for a powerful & stand out corporate look

Do you still wonder how to project success, trustworthiness and professionalism withyour outfi t?

The difference between an ordinary corporate outfi t and a stylish corporate outfi t is the effort you put into details. Despite what people may say, men have as many clothing and accessory options as the ladies to create a stand out wardrobe. So choose something different next time you go shopping.

Gents stainless steel bracelet watc h

We have made a selection of the seven items that must be part of your corporate wardrobe. Invest in them – they are your essentials. With them, you are making your way to a stylish look and will stand out from the crowd.

Watch Invest in a great time piece. This is the fi rst thing we see when you introduce yourself, interact with clients or give presentations.

Gieves & Hawkes Footw ear – Dark brown Chels ea boots Moss – Black High Sh ine Shoes Shoes Shoes are meant to compliment your corporate look. Walk your way to success and treat yourself to one pair of black shoes and one pair of brown shoes. Make sure your shoes are always clean and polished.

– Rotary Watches

Grey skinny tie – Moss Red Silk Tie – Marks & Spencer

Tie The most flattering fabric remains silk as it is very elegant and creates a flawless look. Navy blue suit, white shirt and red tie are the best colour combinations to project power, authority, passion and trustworthiness.

That’s the reason so many American presidents choose this look. Stay away from ties with cartoon or psychedelic designs.

Autograph Accessories by Simon Carter Diamante Grid & Silver Cufflinks – Marks & Spencer Leather Satchel – Marks & Spencer over Briefcase – Debenhams Classic Black Wheel Tote & Flap Briefcase Treasure your documents with a great briefcase. A briefcase is the treasure chest everyone is dying to have. A leather briefcase should be your fi rst choice as they keep longer and the fabric ages very well.

White cotton handkerchief – Giev es & Hawkes Spring Summer 2010 Tailoring Pocket square The pocket square is the ultimate touch to your suit. It is a great way to accentuate your masculinity. Make sure only 1/2 inch of your pocket square is visible.

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

Cufflinks Cuffl inks and a watch are the only acceptable items of jewellery in a corporate world. Make yourself look like royalty and wear them more often.

Trevor Sorbie Mg – Personal Essential

Eau de Toilette & Grooming Make your eau de toilette your tool of persuasion.

Personal hygiene is obviously a must. Bad breath, bad hair and sweat are not tolerable in the perfect world of grooming.

38

AMBASSADoR StYLe

Women Style

Spring/Summer Fashion trends for a business setting

Are you tired of wearing the same boring black suit for work and would like to stand out from the crowd?

The key to a stylish and professional image in a formal setting is to add colours and avoid accentuating your curves in formal settings. Accentuating your curves in a professional setting may result in people taking you less seriously.

We have chosen the best spring/summer trends we thought were worth applying at work. Trends are just trends.

Remember never rush into buying clothes that are in vogue or colours and fabrics that don’t do anything for you.

Only follow the trends that work for your body shape.

Bright Colours For this season bright and intensive colours are one of the great trends. Simply add one or two bright colours to your outfit and you create an outstanding colour combination.

Linen Pintuck Jacket – M&S Silver/Semi Precious Stone Necklace – Wallis Jersey Top – Marisota Skirt – Next Shoes – French Connection

Modern Tribal The western world has fallen in love our intense and vibrant coloured fashion and has made it the trend of this season. Embrace your African heritage and add a touch of western style.

Canary Yellow Shrug – GIVe Longline Tunic – Kaleidoscope Belted Skirt – People Tree Shoes – Faith Footwear Bracelet – Debenhams

Ruffles euphoria Ruffles are a great way to show the girly side of your personality while remaining professional, trustworthy and smart.

Jacket – Pied a Terre – House of Fraser Necklace – George Jewellery Top – Next Trousers – Wallis Fearne Cassandra Shoes – Very.co.uk

Print Me Happy Prints bring an element of fun into your outfit and show the joyful side of your personality.

When you choose prints for your corporate outfit, keep it subtle and elegant.

Opulence Crock Wheel Duffle Bag – Debenhams Spot Dress with Patent Belt – M&Co Bracelet – GIVe Shoes – French Connection

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

ambassador inspiration

39

Championing the role of women in business Sonia Brown of the NBWN

S

onia Brown is the founder and director of The National Black Women’s Network (NBWN) which is a non-profit network organisation providing dynamic initiatives through network support.

The aim of the NBWN is to enable women from diverse backgrounds and occupations to develop strong professional and social contacts; high quality training and education programmes, leadership and national recognition.

“Over the years, the NBWN has organised a wide range of dynamic networking events featuring a wide range of speakers from prominent organisations,” says Sonia. “It’s great to work with industry giants like GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Independent Television Network (ITN), and HSBC Bank Plc (to name a few) who were committed to increasing representation of women across all spheres of their organisation.”

Since 2002 the NBWN has provided the African and Caribbean community with an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues on how to successfully run and manage their businesses under the “Let’s Talk Business” banner in partnership with Business Link for London, Lloyds TSB Bank Plc, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and a host of other partners.

“Let’s Talk Business” is a highly successful and respected networking forum for the African and Caribbean community who want to grow their business, leverage their skills and form strong connections with other entrepreneurs and practitioners” explained Sonia. “We

have supported hundreds of (mainstream) individuals who have been able to successfully raise finance and take their businesses to the next level because of the contacts and leads made at these meetings.”

In 2008, the National Black Women’s Network held a series of networking events in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Yorkshire; showcasing best practice within the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community as well as finding solutions to improve the business environment in which they operate. This initiative was championed by the Rt Hon Theresa May MP and supported by prominent ministers including Caroline Spelman MP (Chairman), Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, (Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action) and Cheryl Gillan MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales to name a few.

This resulted in the Network forming a partnership with the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Expertise (WECOE), Business Link West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands, Enterprise Insight and Birmingham City Council to deliver a series of business network events aimed at the African and Caribbean communities.

In May 2009, the NBWN designed, delivered and managed the Salontalk Professionals programme, which provides thought provoking, interactive workshops to capacity build and engage start ups and established business owners. This programme was extended through the Church of God of Prophecy and the Renewal Advancement Financial Freedom Autonomy international development agency (RAFFA); to date over 300 people have benefitted from this programme.

“In addition to this, the NBWN facilitated the Leadership & Entrepreneurship Workshop built on the work of previous “Let’s Talk Business” networking events on behalf of WECOE, to focus on women wishing to develop new skills, knowledge and attitudes which would eventually contribute to their increased confidence and acumen” continued Sonia. “By focussing on excellence and efficiency, this will enable them to start and improve the well being of their businesses and develop additional skills to represent, influence and advocate on behalf of women’s enterprise after WECOE ceases to exist.”

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

“In January 2009 the ‘Let’s Talk Business’ programme was extended to the London Borough of Ealing where we successfully partnered with the Ealing Council Regeneration Team and Procurement Team and Business Link, London to launch Destination Greenford!” explained Sonia. “More recently we have been working with Faith Groups, CompeteFor and Business Link in London to promote entrepreneurism in Brent and again the Church of God of Prophecy has been instrumental in this.”

In the current economic environment enterprise is becoming more of a viable option for women and Sonia has launched a new scheme to get women working for themselves selling cosmetics and skin care products under the Flori Roberts brand.

“The Government has announced a number of business support packages to help women through the economic crisis but many feel these packages are not addressing the real-life challenges. With rising bills, childcare and other general living costs, a lot of women do not see this as a period of opportunity but rather as a time of necessity. Becoming a home-based entrepreneur can be an accommodating, sustainable solution to these problems” added Sonia. “Home selling has been a phenomenal success for many years and recession times have traditionally seen women maintain their skin care and make-up routine irrespective of the financial climate because of the associated ‘feel good’ benefits; and it’s interesting to look at the link between the two.”

“I know managing a business takes motivation and talent but no matter what your level of experience, women can take charge of their life, tap into their unique background and talents and build a real home business from as little as ninety-nine pounds which is why I am so excited about this venture,” said Sonia.

Sonia is committed to ensuring that women benefit from the countless opportunities and possibilities that are available through their chosen career path and recommends visiting the following websites: www.letstalkbusiness. biz and www.sistatalk.co.uk. For further information on NBWN visit www.nbwn.org.

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ambassador inspiration

The charitable work of Vimba

by Elsie Boateng

T

he plight of African children has come to the fore in recent months following the airing of BBC 4’s “Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children” documentary. The film showcased the struggles of several children in Zimbabwe’s most disadvantaged rural areas, without a political agenda. The show prompted the viewer to consider to where their donations go and how they can make sure their donations actually reach the children in need. This very thought prompted six friends to come together and form their own charity. They named it ‘Vimba’ which translates to ‘hope’ in native Zimbabwean language Shona.

Vimba was established in 2007 with the main aim of raising funds to assist in charitable projects in Zimbabwe and South Africa such as feeding and clothing children in need.

Vimba is chaired by Jenna Gibb who was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Jenna immigrated with her family to South Africa in 2002 and then moving on to London in 2004. Jenna said, “Fundraising was how we started Vimba, we decided to raise some money to send back home and realised that so many people had the same desire as us to try to help those in Zimbabwe. Since then we have gone from strength to strength.”

Jenna currently works for a global construction consultancy and is studying Project Management. She brings with her a wealth of project management experience and a brilliant eye for detail. As such, she is also the Project Coordinator for Vimba’s operations. “All of us go to work 9-6pm, some earlier, some later and manage to fit in what we need to do on a daily basis for Vimba within each day”, said Jenna. “Small sacrifices of time and money here and there are made for sure, but it hardly feels like a sacrifice when you get to see the end results and the progress on a monthly basis.”

Vimba’s main triumph to date is the establishment of feeding centres in both South Africa and Zimbabwe; this has been possible due to the contributions of volunteers.

Any charity organisation thrives on donations and goodwill of individuals and corporate organizations. Vimba is no different; it has so far survived on the little corporate help and generosity of individuals but more needs to be done.

“We decided to raise some money to send back home and realised that so many people had the same desire as

Food Delivery

us, to try to help those in Zimbabwe...”

Jenna Gibb, Chairman of Vimba Germany and Negomo

Food Delivery

Despite the controversies widely reported in the media about Zimbabwean politics, Vimba has remained non-partisan and concentrated their efforts on changing lives for the children in Zimbabwe. Jenna states: “All Vimba representatives have an affiliation with Zimbabwe, either coming from the country or having a relative from the country. We all feel passionate about the people and a strong urge to help those who cannot help themselves in some small way, shape or form.”

For more information and to find out how to make a donation or assist Vimba in their endeavors please visit: www.vimba.co.uk.

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

ambassador inspiration

41

Rehul Patel of Ink 2 Paper

by Aisha Phipps

R

ehul Patel, 37 and a married father of two, was born in Kenya. Since 1984 he has resided in the UK. He owns a business in the design and print industry.

In his early days in the print industry he worked at his father’s printing firm, where he developed a love for the business. Although as a youngster his dream was “to play professional cricket”, Rehul admits that in life, nothing goes to plan and instead pursued another desire which was to work alongside his father and business owner Raghuvir Patel, to learn the valuable tips of the printing trade.

In 2005 Rehul founded Ink 2 Paper – a print and design company specialising in business cards to brochures in both litho and digital prints and in a choice of different formats. He acquired the start-up costs with the help of his father and a close friend and believes the best advice was received from his father. “He taught me everything from the basics and working for him, I had the best experience one would ever get,” Rehul says.

Rehul firmly believes that as an Africanowned business, he will always have to surpass customer expectations due to the stereotypes that exist. However he trusts that success will prevail so long as one has a sound attitude

“Nine-to-five? Those days are well gone… running your own business, I think the customer will tell you when you can open and finish…”

Rehul Patel – Owner and founder of Ink 2 Paper

towards work. His advice to business owners is to be truthful by giving the correct delivery times. Rehul stresses that the best way to retain customers when delivery times do not go to plan, is by being open and honest with them. He also advises African entrepreneurs to familiarise themselves with the UK business environment by networking at various events.

The business owner has discovered the phrase ‘nine-to-five’ simply does not exist when one has their own business: “Nine-tofive? Those days are well gone….running your own business, I think the customer will tell you when you can open and finish…” laughs Rehul.

However, outside ‘working ® hours’ he spends

time with his family, indulges in a game of cricket and supports his favourite football team, Manchester United.

Rehul has the immense support of his wife Jamini Patel and admits that he has received the best support from his wife and family. His experience tells him that “there are no friends when you have your own business, because so called friends will always try and lower your price”. He believes without the support of his family he would have struggled.

Rehul has noted differences in the way people run their business in the UK in comparison to Africa. He says: “Back home, you had good staff working for you and at good rates too. In this country, we as the owners will have to put in the hours and get our own hands dirty.”

However, Rehul Patel is hard worker and possesses a vision. His five year goal is to see more Ink 2 Paper branches open in the United Kingdom.

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ambassador inspiration

43

Dream chaser – Ryan Hughes

by Elsie Boateng

“A mixture of common sense and being fully aware of opportunities around you, along with the vision to implement them, pays big dividends.”

Ryan Hughes

R

yan Hughes’s life is like a story or plot seen in films and novels; one man drops everything to follow his dreams and passion, the story doesn’t always have a fairytale ending but Ryan’s definitely has.

Describing himself as a southern African rather than of a South African having grown up living across the whole of southern Africa, Ryan left a successful consulting business not mention a comfortable life back in South Africa to chase his dream of living and working in the UK .

Ryan arrived in the UK in 2003 with no idea what was in store for him, his hard work and perseverance shone through as he worked his way up from a sales role in a multinational office supplies company to become a national account manager looking after blue chip organizations across the UK. Having proved his worth he was singled out by one of the directors leaving the company to

take up a more senior management position in a new company. Ryan jumped at the chance as the position meant he would have more influence to effect real change.

Ryan is currently the Sales and Marketing Director at CPS Office Supplies Ltd., a growing supplier of all office products, furniture, corporate merchandise and print management needs to small, medium and corporate companies throughout the UK. Under his leadership CPS Office Supplies has grown despite the economic recession and is on course to double its turnover in the next three years.

Ryan’s success proves that he is hard working, goes after what he wants, appreciates teamwork and not taking all the credit, this is portrayed by how he describes CPS’s success as a result of the collect effort of everyone who works there.

As an African businessman working in the UK, Ryan believes it’s not easy to make it but coming from a continent of different cultures

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

gives Africans an ‘indestructible entrepreneurial spirit’ making it very possible to succeed.

His advice to up and coming business people and entrepreneurs is to ‘believe in what you are doing, this will focus your mind set on your goal. Be aware of your time, energy and ability and ensure that you get the best return on investment for these resources’. As a member of the Institute for Independent Businesses UK (IIB), Ryan reiterates that up and coming entrepreneurs should be ‘careful where they get their business advice from, stay away from negative people who will often give all the reasons why your ideas won’t work. Instead talk to people who are succeeding in the business world, surround yourself with “can do” solution driven individuals and organizations such as the AAOE’ to help stay on track.

Ryan is a hard working but laid back person who is happiest when relaxing with his family having a barbecue or part taking in outdoor activities; he is an inspiration to us all not just entrepreneurs and business people; uprooting his life to chase his dream shows his entrepreneurial spirit and the courage to go after what he wants. He has shown that hard work, perseverance and sometimes putting it all on the line pays off proving that the sky really is the limit.

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ambassador recruitment

Who is the Appointments Commission?

E

ver wondered how people are selected as non-executives for public organizations? Well, the Appointments Commission is the body responsible for coordinating this. The Appointments Commission is the only organization in the UK dedicated to public appointments, recruiting and selecting the best possible people for public appointments in all areas of public life. They work across all government departments including the NHS and handle more than 1,000 public appointments each year, representing around one third of all appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The Appointments Commission was established originally as the NHS Appointments Commission in 2001 to provide an independent and transparent appointment process for public appointments, based on the principle of selection on merit. As an ‘arms length body’ of the Department of Health, the Commission originally focused exclusively on the appointment of chairs and non-executives to local NHS boards. As an independent body with delegated statutory responsibility for making these appointments, the Commission was also responsible for ensuring that the appointed chairs and non-executives received annual performance appraisals, were offered proper training and were fully supported in their work. Within two years Ministers extended the Commission’s remit to include appointments to all bodies in the health and social care sector.

In October 2006, the Commission took an important step forward. With a change of name to the Appointments Commission, it was given new powers to provide recruitment and selection services for all Government Departments and NHS Foundation Trusts.

To safeguard the Commission’s founding role, a Health and Social Care Appointments Committee was established internally, comprising the chair, chief executive and the six Health and Social Care Commissioners.

This Committee is responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for making appointments to NHS and Department of Health bodies.

Today the Commission employs sixty staff and is governed by a board, comprising a nonexecutive chair, four executive directors and four non-executive directors, one of whom must be a Health and Social Care Commissioner.

The Appointments Commission’s vision is to be the provider of choice for public appointments. Their aim is to achieve this by finding and supporting the leaders the public service needs to achieve the best possible outcomes for service users, staff and communities. The Appointments Commission will champion public service values and good governance whilst promoting diversity and ensuring public appointments are based on merit. In June 2009 the Government Equalities Office, in partnership with the Cabinet Office, launched a set of new targets and an action plan to increase the number of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people holding public appointments.

Women currently represent 51% of the population, but only make up 33.3% of public appointees. 14% of the working-age population has a disability, but disabled people make up only 5% of public appointees. Less than 6% of public appointees are from an ethnic minority background, despite the overall ethnic minority population being nearly 11%.

The Appointments Commission regularly monitors their performance in relation to diversity in appointments. In relation to health appointments in 2008/9, 34% were women, 4% were disabled people and 11% were from an ethnic minority background.

By 2011, for all UK public appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, the aim is for: 50% public appointees to be women, 14% public appointees to be disabled people;

11% public appointees to be Asian, Black and Minority Ethnic people.

Speaking at the launch of the new targets, Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality under Gordon Brown’s Labour party, said: “Diversity brings fresh perspectives, new ideas and broader experience on which to draw and ensuring diverse groups play an active role in public life strengthens our democracy. We all stand to benefit from the improved decision making that can come from a wider range of contributions.”

The Appointments Commission have built firm foundations to help them meet the challenges of delivering and promoting diversity in public appointments, and will continue to work with the Government Equalities Office, the Cabinet Office and other partners to develop their diversity programme.

The Appointments Commission represents a unique opportunity for Africans in the UK to join the boards of public organizations in the UK and shape the direction of these organizations. Britain is unique in how diverse the population is. The Appointments Commission is the platform to harness this diversity and apply various backgrounds and experiences to the direction of public organizations. An open invitation is extended to all members of the African community in the UK to explore public appointments and apply to sit on these public boards where they are suitably qualified to do so. Further information is available from the Appointments Commission’s website: www.appointments.org.uk.

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

46

ambassador recruitment

African talent in Diaspora lead brighter futures for Ghana

A

group of African Human Resource (HR) and Information Technology experts in the diaspora is storming Accra to lend their expertise and share knowledge with conference delegates attending Ghana’s biggest career event dubbed, Brighter Futures 2010.

The summit taking place from July 8-10, 2010 is a major part of Brighter Futures 2010 and will be under the theme, ”Developing a Skilled Work Force for Africa”.

Leading this delegation will be Professor Theo Veldsman, Independent Peoples Effectiveness Consultant and Human Resource Professor at the University of Johannesburg who is a keynote speaker at the conference. Drawing from his vast experience in industry and academia, Professor Veldsman will speak on “Transformational Leadership-Building Winning Teams”.

Ghanaian-born Senior Lecturer at the London Metropolitan University and Course Leader for MSc in Computer Systems Auditing, Philip Nukpe will also deliver a paper at this major convention of Ghanaian and African business leaders who identify Human Capital as a vital key to corporate success and HR professionals, who want to learn, add value and network.

Presenting the topic “Harnessing IT Skills at the Work Place”, Philip Nukpe revealed, “IT skills in the workforce have been a problem of concern to both businesses and government. This is because studies have shown that the workforce lacks various IT skills needed for businesses to be competitive.”

He stressed, “However, even in the UK, the workforce has fallen behind other industrialised nations in the preparation and enhancement of IT skills. Such lack of IT skills has led to one of the many reasons why companies have turned to outsourcing to meet the IT skill-set gap. In recent years the UK government for instance, has engaged with businesses and educational institutions to find ways of addressing the lack of IT skills in the workforce. My presentation at Brighter Futures 2010 therefore attempts to explore the various ways to identify, extract, connect and manage the essential IT skills needed by a workforce to effectively perform its functions in order to be a reckoning force amongst its competitors.”

At Brighter Futures 2010, there will be a special workshop for organisations and multinational corporations seeking to beef their work

force with foreign-trained Ghanaian talent as well as Ghanaian professionals in the diaspora wanting jobs back home.

Other African speakers from the diaspora at the conference are Lisa Ashton (CEO of Bioss South Africa and a top Industrial Psychologist); Marieme Jamme (a Senegalese-born, Londonbased social entrepreneur, international speaker and Group CEO of SpotOne Global Solutions); Rosie Ebe-Arthur(Head of HR, eProcess, the Ecobank Group, who has worked in senior roles for some UK firms); Anita Wiafe(Founder of an international HR consultancy, with headquarters in London); Tracie Annan(Training Manager Morrissons Contractors, UK).

Some other topics at the conference are “Tapping Ghanaian Skills in the Diaspora for National Development” “Rebranding Africa through Its Human Capital”, “The Role of HR as a Business Partner”, “Attracting and Retaining the Best Talent”, “Managing Succession Planning” and more.

A spokesman of the organisers, Occupational Management Limited added, “We are very thankful to all our speakers coming down to lead discussions, network and strategize solutions to help develop African and Ghanaian Human Capital as it is crucial in organisational or national success. The session will also be addressed by an A-list of Ghanaian-based experts led by Nana Sackey, Managing Partner of Deloitte and Touché Ghana and other international experts such as Geoff Kirkwood, Group CEO of global talent company, Lifestyle Architecture making presentations. “ African Repatriation, a jobsite for Africans returning back home, is a partner of Brighter Futures 2010 exhibition. James Young, Director of African Repatriation says, “ With many skilled Africans currently working overseas we recognized the need for a website dedicated to providing the latest job industry news and specialist articles, for Africans thinking about relocating back to their home nation.”

Our vision is simple-to help people who share the same goal to return home. So, we set about building an engaging community that provides interactive tools that can unite likeminded individuals, which can help to empower a sustainable Africa.”

Brighter Futures 2010 Exhibition will also provide the platform for recruiting organisations, HR solution providers such as software providers, recruitment agencies and training organisations

“...lack of IT

skills has led to one of

the many reasons why

companies have turned

to outsourcing to meet

the IT skill-set gap.”

like Bioss South Africa to showcase their job and volunteering opportunities, HR solutions and training programmes to over 10,000 attendees made up of graduates, jobseekers, National Service Personnel, mid career executives, etc.

Some partners and sponsors of Brighter Futures 2010 include Votic Mineral Water, Modern Ghana, African Repatriation, JobServe Africa, The Ghanaian Journal, Africa News, Joblinks, Bvents and “The Ambassador”, official magazine of the Association of African Owned Enterprises.

For more information about sponsorship, conference and exhibitor registration, visit http://BrighterFutures4Africa.com or email: brighterfutures@hr-oml.co.uk or call 024250992/ 0264981426 (Ghana) or 08447362722 (UK).

Ambassaor Magazine z Summer 2010 z www.ambassadormag.co.uk

ambassador recruitment

Job Vacancies Systems Engineer Sector: Telecoms

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Benefits: Company bonus, education allowance, life insurance, local transport/car, return flight to domicile.

A global market leading telco vendor are seeking a Systems Engineer with strong experiences in VoIP and/or core IP networking experience with carrier/service provider customers to join their growing team in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Responsibilities: 1) Be responsible for network design and solution architecture.

2) Test company solutions in a lab environment at the customer site.

3) Manage lab trials, proof-of-concepts and product demonstrations.

4) Manage the integration phase together with partners and customers’ technical team.

5) Play a part in bid and pre-sales stage.

6) Act as a technical lead within the territory and act as a subject expert of the company

product range.

7) Drive the company product road map forward.

Skills: 1) 2) 3) 4)

Strong hands on skills in core IP networks and service provider VoiP solutions.

Proven experience of network design, pre- and post-sales.

Ability to work in a dynamic start-up environment.

Flexible to travel.

Technical Skills: 1) Strong hands-on experience in core service provider IP networks, VoIP Protocols: SIP, H323, H248, IMS, media gateways, firewalls etc.

2) Ideally strong knowledge of Session Border Controllers.

3) Ideally CCIE certified (desirable but not a must) Qualifications and Experience: Degree education ideal (or relevant work experience will also suffice) CCNA, CCNP, CCVP, CCIE (Voice) are desirable.

For more information on this vacancy and others like it visit http://www.africantalent.com/

www.ambassadormag.co.uk z Summer 2010 z Ambassaor Magazine

47

cLASSIFIeDS

African Repatriation is an invaluable online resource for any African looking to return home, & for people looking to emigrate, or work in Africa. Featuring specialist editorials and industry specific articles, the site has been designed with a social networking element in mind.

www.africanrepatriation.com

African Talent is a formidable online African job board encompassing the whole continent. African talent’s functionality makes it simple for employers to manage all their online account features, whilst simultaneously offering numerous career searching tools to ensure the candidate’s online search experience is easy, effective & enjoyable.

www.africantalent.com

RESEARCH & MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR AFRICA MARKET Understanding your market and the consumers of your products is a critical channel of giving your business a cutting edge. With competitors, we will set you apart by utilizing research along with sound business and marketing strategies.

Contact: Mary Williams, Marisel Consultancy t:+233 2mariselg, +233 206360539 f:+233 21 411474 e: mwmarywilly@gmail.com, infoconsult@mariselltd.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/marywilliamsresearch Skype: mwilliams20

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