NOTES FROM THE BAM NETWORK BREAKFAST MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, 19TH APRIL 2007 AT THE ACK GUESTHOUSE.
Introduction
The second BAM breakfast meeting took place on 19th April 2007 at the ACK Guesthouse. This is a forum for like-minded believers whose purpose is to create a forum for networking and engaging one another on how businesses can be agents of transformation in society. The forum has so far attracted over 150 participants drawn from both the church and different business sectors, as the attached list indicates. 56 participants attended this meeting.
We plan to convene these meetings initially on monthly basis and review their progress at the end of this year. BAM breakfast meetings are held every third Thursday of the month and run from 7:30-9:00AM. Participants have expressed the need to get exposed to the concept of ‘Business as Mission’ through this platform where information is exchanged and disseminated.
From the previous BAM meetings and consultations held, a need has emerged for a networking forum to be established for people interested in BAM as a principle and practise. It has been indicated that the existing business-people’s fellowships are not addressing business as an avenue and a catalyst to wholistic transformation. BAM breakfast meetings are organized at the national level increasingly drawing people from all over the country.
The BAM breakfast meetings have four main objectives:
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Promote the concept and practice of BAM |
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Provide a platform for information sharing such as: emerging business opportunities and BAM success stories |
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Connect practitioners with potential practitioners |
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Connect young businesses with mature and established businesses |
The last two meetings have succeeded to meet the objectives set earlier for these meetings. As the members indicate these meetings are generating a lot of interest. It is noteworthy that the second meeting attracted many new participants as the first one. We aim to involve as many business people and potential business people as possible in order to expose the concept and to share the practice of BAM to he different interest groups. It is delightful that quite a number of the participants came from the churches where we have previously spoken on Business As Mission. We aim to reach business outside of the city which has been one of the needs expressed.
Presentations
There were two main presentations:
1. Nick Nyagah gave an overview of cross-border trade. He discussed the challenges involved, the advocacy that is needed for it to become a viable and well-understood engagement, the opportunities that lie therein, and what kind of transformation that may result from it. ( Download presentation...)
2. Mr. Marubu Munyaka spoke on ‘Structured Finance’ as a source of support for major business initiatives like cross-border trade. ( Download presentation...)
Their respective presentations are attached.
Plenary discussions
At the end of the two presentations questions/comments were captured from participants as indicated in the table below.
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Aspect, discussion issue |
Recommended action |
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1. When banks do not play their role of financing enterprises, they end up impoverishing Kenya. E.g. their practise of demanding collateral for any loans |
Keep lobbying our banks to be more business friendly, and be creative in their partnerships with clients. E.g. In Zimbabwe, the banks sometime partner in the business with the client. In Kenya, Equity Bank is setting the pace in being more business friendly in providing business loans. |
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2. We need to have practical solutions to the problems being aired at these fora. |
Develop the ideas in this forum and disseminate them. |
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3. Where can information be found? Where can we get knowledge? Information is critical in some very competitive sectors |
- BAM is trying to create and be an information hub. This will share contacts, resources like people and materials.
- BAM has a website www.bamafrica.org
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4. The ideas generated in this forum should be recorded and acted on. We need action. and not talk to much. |
Taskforces and working groups can be established around specific interest. |
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5. We should remember to do business as we go into lobbying activities and set up taskforce. It is possible to spend a lot of energy on these other issues- lobbying, advocacy and policy-making, , which are also important, and neglect BUSINESS which is our core focus. |
Ensure that there is progress on all fronts, and ensure that the core mission of Business as Mission is emphasised. |
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