The Challenges Group

Challenges Zambia, the Zambian part of The Challenges Group, is hosting and leading a one-week bootcamp in Lusaka for the Innovation Challenge Project. Good luck to all the participants!

It was great to be part of the Our Shared Future event. Thank you, Tracy Morse, for inviting Eoghan Mackie onto the “What role should Scottish and UK higher education play in supporting international development within Sub-Saharan Africa?” panel alongside Kevin Ibeh, Claire McPherson, and Nancy Chitera. From our experience running programmes like Youth to Work, Ready for Inclusive Sustainable Employment and Entrepreneurship (RISE/E), and the Denis Goldberg Scholarship in Sub-Saharan Africa, we were able to share insights on the value of combining academic achievements with practical work experience - and the positive outcomes of doing so. We were also able to share examples of how higher education can drive innovation and how many projects we design and deliver connect research and development to real-world contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa. By fostering effective partnerships, outcomes are optimised for all involved. Challenges Ghana Challenges Tanzania Challenges Uganda Challenges Zambia Challenges Rwanda

Finding Community Organisations to collaborate with Bright Red Triangle @ Edinburgh Napier University (BRT) Social Innovation Challenge, MyEdinburgh & The Challenges Group We are partnering with Napier University to source Community Organisations for the BRD Social Innovation Challenge, taking place from  3 to 7 March. MyEdinburgh will provide space for the students to meet during the week, and for the final presentation on 7 March.   💁♀️ How can you help?!   We are looking for 2 local community organisations who are reasonably well established and have some challenges where new thinking and some new ideas could make a difference.  In terms of timing, it would be ideal if one or two representatives from the organisation can be available at the following times: *️⃣ Monday 3rd: 2pm to 5pm, including a 3 min introduction / overview of their organisation to the students. *️⃣ Tuesday 4th to Thursday 6th: Students can contact them (either face to face, phone or email on a daily basis during the week) at mutually convenient times *️⃣ Friday 7th: Join the students for presentations from 1pm for 2-3 hours Information to share with potential partners:   🔺 Bright Red Triangle is the enterprise hub at Edinburgh Napier University and also supports Queen Margaret University and Edinburgh College. They run a social innovation programme where students work with local community groups to come up with new ideas to help them tackle some of the challenges that they face. We hope that you may be interested in accessing this free consultancy help via the fresh perspective of these enthusiastic students.   At the end of the week the students will present their suggestions as to how you could tackle your challenges. Hopefully you will get some worthwhile ideas that you can use in developing your work. I can assure you that all information that you divulge will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be used outside this project. https://lnkd.in/e7cRnS3J   ⌛ Next steps: The deadline to source partner organisations is ASAP! It is relatively short notice - apologies. The students will be working on the project from 3rd to 7th March.  The University is asking for approx. 4 hours of your time, and you'll gain a whole week of the students' time!    Interested? Please respond below or email hello@myedinburgh.org The Royal Company of Merchants of The City of Edinburgh Edinburgh Napier University

Over the past week, we’ve been participating in events, including ANDE Southern Africa’s Pan African Conference and the Ghana Chamber of Youth Entrepreneurs (GCYE) launch of the Youth & Women Business Policy Environment Reform (YWPER) Project. At the GCYE event, it was insightful to learn about policy and how it is being used to create an enabling environment for Youth and Female Entrepreneurs in Ghana. It also got us thinking, as a business support provider, about our role in helping to shape future policies that better support enterprise. Key takeaways:    Sherif Ghali Policies like the five-year tax waiver for Ghanaian youth businesses are already in place to support youth and female entrepreneurs. However, low awareness and limited accessibility mean the uptake remains critically low. Ernest Agyenim-Boateng The establishment of the Ministry for Youth Development & Empowerment highlights Ghana’s commitment to empowering young people to engage in policy discussions and influence change directly. Stephen Hunt Policy reform is a collaborative process that needs input from all ecosystem stakeholders to ensure the resulting changes address everyone’s needs. From ANDE’s Pan African Conference, one key takeaway was the growing challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and growing businesses (SGBs) in accessing finance. Many find themselves in the #missingmiddle - too large for microfinance yet too risky for traditional banks - making it difficult to secure the funding needed for growth and scaling. Addressing this issue requires a dual approach: building the capacity of SMEs and SGBs while fostering an #enablingenvironment. At The Challenges Group, we are delivering a range of projects that do just that for purpose-led enterprises. For example, The Ventures Lab provides an inclusive, supportive path for aspiring or early-stage entrepreneurs to bring their purpose-led businesses to life. It provides long-term business support, pooled business services, access to finance, and prepares businesses to become investment-ready. If you want to learn more about the support we are , please do reach out. Shaun McLaughlin Eoghan Mackie Caroline Wylie Angie Lee Ross Isdale Challenges Ghana Challenges Tanzania Challenges Uganda Challenges Zambia Challenges Rwanda

A few of us made it along to the SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) #TheGathering at the EICC last week, where we had the opportunity to network, meet a robot, and deliver a workshop on peer-led management training alongside the Chartered Management Institute. Lynn Houmdi CMgr MCMI, and Peter Deakin did a fantastic job facilitating the session. As part of the workshop, we asked participants about the biggest challenges they face as managers and leaders in their organisations today. The top three answers were workload, people management and finding time to be strategic. We discussed how, regardless of the challenges (internal or external), galvanising your employees to help you address them was key. To do this effectively, managers need the skills, time, and headspace to balance both leadership and management responsibilities.

Last Chance to Join: Managing with Purpose Training The booking deadline is tomorrow, (Wednesday 12 February) for our CMI-certified Managing with Purpose training taking place on Wednesday, 19 February. Research from the Chartered Management Institute shows that organisations that invest in management and leadership development see, on average, a 23% increase in organisational performance and a 32% improvement in people performance. To book your place, email training@thechallengesgroup.com. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/dbJuwdbY

For those in our network working in the Scottish Social Enterprise sector – Interface is looking for a new board member with experience working in a social enterprise or an organisation that represents social enterprises. They are seeking someone committed to enhancing Scotland’s innovation ecosystem, connecting academia with business, and contributing to regional and national growth. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/e-4xQUzN Social Enterprise Scotland

The Climate Change Legal Initiative (C2LI) is a social enterprise dedicated to strengthening legal knowledge and expertise to drive just and transformational climate action. Their vision is a world where the climate emergency is no longer an existential threat. Through The Ventures Lab, we are proud to support purpose-led ventures like C2LI as they explore, develop and grow. It is why we exist, to maximise enterprises’ potential so they can deliver extraordinary impact. Dr. Kate McKenzie, C2LI’s CEO, shares more about C2LI and how support from The Ventures Lab is helping them. To learn more about the support we offer, visit theventureslab.com Angie Lee Eoghan Mackie Shaun McLaughlin Ross Isdale Edinburgh Napier University The University of Edinburgh University of Strathclyde Strathclyde Law School University of Dundee Dundee City Council The City of Edinburgh Council University of St Andrews University of Aberdeen Glasgow Caledonian University University of Glasgow Heriot-Watt University #TheVenturesLab

We thought we would share as this might be useful if you are a charity and looking for Tech support.

Challenges Group is a long-standing provider of management and leadership training to a range of audiences globally, including through our strategic partnership with the Chartered Management Institute. We have been designing and delivering impactful work-readiness, professional skills development, and early-stage entrepreneurship programmes across a wide range of sectors for 18 years and have trained over 28,000 individuals. We are seeking a Business Development Manager to lead on the development of Economic Empowerment projects with funders and other partners in Scotland. Would you like to support us in our efforts? Find the job description, and how to apply from the link in the comments.