Charles Glass continues his series about the Seed Fund by sharing how the team bring support to emerging businesses.
Training and Mentoring
Many in the contexts in which we are working have little business experience. For them, particularly, Training and Mentoring are vital. But we have yet to find someone for whom it is not needed at all! So we have a number of the team members who have been involved in training initiatives, ranging from large groups to coaching individuals. They can bring personal input and support to ensure not only that the business has a good chance of success but that this opportunity to start a business also provides a context for strengthening the individual in his skills and abilities.
Both Martin Fakely and Charles Glass have at different times helped run church-based business training for our growing group of churches in Turkey. In this case they were mainly started by church planters themselves to support their ministry, and build real connections to the communities they are trying to reach.
Laurence Evans has twice run business start-up training in the Ukraine, for a mixture of pastors and would-be entrepreneurs. The session last year had 22 attendees and involved businesses ranging from furniture-making to bee-keeping and book-publishing.
Business Planning
Using a small business programme the participants were able to build a robust business plan, create a financial summary and through individual coaching identify the issues where they needed to bring particular focus.
On a more individual basis Charles has been coaching a young church leader in Eastern Ukraine who has had to relocate with his family to a new city because of the war. He and his wife have set up a chocolate and coffee shop, which supports them as a family and enables him to work part time in the church.
Zambia
Laurence has also worked with Joseph Mwila who leads the New Dawn sphere of churches in Zambia, starting in 2015 with the inaugural Young Zambian of the Year 
competition which attracted 350 entries and mentored 9 young Zambian finalists in their first year of starting businesses.
Now in its fourth year, the Zambia business conference brings together leaders of business, government and churches to raise up young leaders who will start businesses’ and lead communities.
To learn more about Seedfund, and to be involved in supporting businesses which assist in church planting and also uplift people and communities in need, go to Seedfund.org.uk