Help to Grow Management attracts business leaders with noble hearts

Kevin Watkins is one of our participants in the Help to Grow Management programme and alumni of the University of Portsmouth. He completed two UoP courses previously - MSc Project Management and MSc Business and Management. He is loyal to the brand and eager to challenge himself, learn new things and take new initiatives.

Kevin Watkins

His most recent initiative is called Raring to Row where he will be rowing the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Antigua. Is he doing this just for an adventurer's experience? No, the idea behind is much more noble. He is raising money for kids with rare diseases - the children’s charity Action Medical Research. This is an example how Help to Grow Management brings people from diverse backgrounds together, creates relationships and links which support initiatives with greater benefit to communities and societies. Interested? Keep reading.

The Challenge

It takes certain qualities to be able to go through the challenges of rowing 3000 miles. This is the world’s toughest row. Kevin is part of a team of 4 - two women and two men and they train 3 to 4 hours daily.

They have started the training in 2019 and they will be sailing in December 2022. It will take them 40 to 50 days to reach Antigua. However, this is not the only thing they have to focus on. They need additional fund-raising initiatives and ideas, they need sponsors, and they need to ensure the equipment is maintained and checked regularly. Raising awareness about Raring to Row, managing relationships with different stakeholders involved, raising money, and working together as a team all this can be classified as managing a business.

Kevin shared a story which touches the heart. Along with his team they visited a local infant school where they took the boat to raise awareness about the initiative. The kids asked them lots of questions. There was a blind girl who was not able to see the boat but by touching it she was able to imagine how it looks. So, they not only raise awareness but enable those children to be part of it as well.

Help to Grow Management

?Kevin is a committee member of Shaping Portsmouth - a non-profit organisation working closely with Portsmouth City Council to support SMEs locally. The Help to Grow Management course was mentioned in one of those meetings and he instantly thought that this will be an excellent opportunity for him.

According to Kevin the course is a real mix of expertise not only from the sessions but from people from the cohort as well. Networking brings an enormous benefit to him and his initiative. Other participants supported Kevin with his initiative financially, emotionally, and morally.

Through the UK Government Help To Grow business growth programme the featured business of the module on Internationalisation is Micro-Fresh? and Kevin saw that the technology could be beneficial for his upcoming mission to row across the Atlantic. Micro-Fresh? agreed to support Kevin by treating the cushions with their technology to keep them free from odour, bacteria, mildew and mould and keeping them fresh throughout the long journey.

Another business producing licensed soft beer is taking part in the programme will be giving away a mascot Paddington bear to accompany the rowers across the Atlantic.

Local businesses support Kevin and his initiative with providing free services or products. Help to Grow Management course is a good opportunity to raise awareness about the charity and get the right people on board.

Kevin found useful Marketing and Branding modules as they encouraged him to think differently and look at the brand from a customer perspective. Being only a few weeks on the course he already sees value for his business.

According to Kevin the mentors are supportive and provide high-quality advice. The people who deliver the programme are passionate and this comes across in the sessions. The content is not just delivered but real-life examples are brought. One of the most beneficial parts of the course for Kevin is the networking opportunities.

Shermin Choban