The founder’s vision

For much of the 1980s my family lived in Kumi District, in eastern Uganda. The formative years of my childhood were therefore spent immersed in rural Ugandan life where, through a child’s eyes, I experienced first-hand the wonderful generosity of the local community and the trials and tribulations of day-to-day life. The experience also gave me a real passion for the natural environment and for community development.

It also sowed the seeds for a conviction in the power of business to help tackle poverty and drive sustainable socio-economic development in the world’s poorest countries. This conviction has guided my career as a sustainability professional and ultimately is why I founded Kumi.

Kumi District takes its name from the town of Kumi, the largest town in the district. As a child, I remember that whenever we set off on a journey by car we would spend the first 10 miles or so slowly bumping along a rough dirt road until we reached Kumi where we would join the highway that would take us to Soroti, Mbale and the rest of the country. It was only once we reached Kumi that the journey would really get going and we would progress towards our destination with real pace and purpose.

This childhood memory is a metaphor for what I hope clients will experience with Kumi Consulting. My hope is that, through the support provided by Kumi’s consulting services, clients experience a step-change in the positive impacts they create through their corporate sustainability activities and in the commercial value they gain from their sustainability programmes.