TruStory 

YEP Kenya

The power of the Young Expert Program

Young Expert Programmes’ (YEP Programmes) mission is to create a young, renewed, inspiring international network and build expertise in the fields of Water, Agrofood and renewable Energy through Dutch organisations, operating in developing countries and emerging markets. For the period 2024-2025, Truvalu and YEP Agro Food (in close collaboration  with its strategic partner Netherlands Food Partnership) partnered to equip Edward Macharia with the skills to tackle sustainable development goals in Kenya.

Access to networks and professional development is an active process and in Kenya, where youth unemployment is high, the opportunities are few and most organizations fail to take note of their employees’ professional development. At Truvalu we value our staff and the expertise they have to offer from a young age. We are  committed to nurturing our talent. Our ongoing commitment to this ideal has led to Edward being the 5th young expert which we have partnered with YEP to personally develop.

This YEP program has emboldened Edward to become more active in the ecosystems in which he serves. Since the start of the program, he has grown in soft skills to deepen his networks in the Kenyan investment ecosystem to further drive impactful investments for Truvalu. This has helped him grow more confident in sourcing opportunities for investment in Kenya and  taking a more active role in the investment process.

“The structured approach to personal development has helped me leverage soft skills for a more involved and exciting work experience at Truvalu. I have become more passionate about developing our food systems and working with entrepreneurs to strengthen youth opportunities for others and meet the growing food demand in Kenya. Through the mentorship within Truvalu and coaches from YEP, I have learned to take time to build meaningful relationships and by better understanding of Truvalu’s mission have become more efficient at what I do in my day to day.” – Edward

Personal development

The individual and collective training programme is focused on Young Experts’ personal development and serves as an extra boost to start their international careers. The training programme for Young Experts is focused on several areas of development:

  • Individual Development
  • Collective Development
  • Networking & Innovation

The program of Batch 31 began with a two week intensive training session at the Hague where Edward received training in Communication, Pitching, Personal development based on MBTI, Intercultural work, Design Thinking and Managing Terms and Conditions. Edward was then assigned a mentor who met up regularly throughout the year to help activate Edward’s network locally and in the Netherlands within and outside Truvalu.

The training programme consisted of 5 learning tracks which together allow Young Experts to become versatile professionals:

  • Track 1 | Context – navigating your local and new contexts
  • Track 2 | Communication – applying communication in your day-to-day work
  • Track 3 | Personal Development – improving who you are as a person and a professional
  • Track 4 | Intercultural Leadership – becoming an effective leader across cultures
  • Track 5 | Entrepreneurship – unlocking the entrepreneur within you

The YEP Programme Bureau also appointed a coach to Edward to focus on his personal development goals and helped develop learning objectives and was available for any personal matters as well.

“YEP provides a significant exposure for Truvalu and the Young Expert to learn from international professional expertise in the agrifood sector. The YEP program allowed Edward to gain from an international work environment via Dutch companies, knowledge institutions, and civil society organisations. This empowered him to bring in new ideas, energy, drive and passion to the organisation. He also learned a lot about how inclusive agrifood value chains work and how this can be integrated in the business models of SMEs. It is inspiring to see how Edward has become an advisor for entrepreneurs and is part of a new generation of professionals contributing to the sustainable development of the agrifood sector in Kenya and Eastern Africa.” Mentor, Machteld Ooijens
“ I particularly enjoyed the pitching workshops which taught me entrepreneurial skills of communicating ideas effectively to others. This skill has brought me much joy as I have been able to apply them in my day to day work assisting our SMEs in positioning within agri-value chains to further drive their growth”“Through the context track, I learned to work in multiple contexts. This year we received a new managing director in Kenya, and the team has evolved as we also brought in new senior associates. Because of the training and active coaching, I transitioned well to new working styles and owe it to the program for equipping me with versatility in working with others”- Edward.

Truvalu's support

  • Truvalu organized several visits to its partners, including a visit to the head office in the Netherlands of one of its investee companies. This was a good opportunity for Edward to engage with the team to understand their goals and develop a relationship with the staff. Next to that, he made a visit to several (retails) shops to demonstrate the preferences of Dutch consumers to equip Edward in communicating the global context to SMEs that seek export readiness.
  • Supervising and mentoring of his day to day was done by the managing director of Truvalu Kenya – Peter Owaga. The performance planning was aligned with Edward’s  Personal Development Plan and was used for regular discussions and for his performance appraisal.
  • His mentor, Machteld Ooijens, met regularly with the Young Expert via video calls on a regular basis and has led to Edward’s further involvement in Truvalu’s global ambitions. This directly has fostered the growth of his network with Truvalu’s partners, locally and in the Netherlands.