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Kennie Williamson BA (Hons) Business Studies
Director

Kennie Williamson is an experienced business development adviser and consultant who, in addition to working in the UK, has worked extensively in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Kennie has worked with and for country governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and small and micro-enterprises. As well as experience of running his own businesses, he has extensive international project management experience gained working for the European Union (EU) and British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).

As Business Adviser for Traidcraft Exchange, Kennie provided research on the European market for Caribbean and African products for, amongst others, Malawian, South African, Jamaican and Haitian organisations, for dissemination to their clients.

Through Traidcraft’s country programmes, he was responsible for delivering ‘Into the Market’ training programmes to craft producers in South Africa, wood carvers in Kenya and small foods and crafts businesses in India, while in Botswana he carried out research into the feasibility of establishing an export business, based on the handicraft sector.

In his role as an international development consultant, Kennie has worked directly with businesses and with those who support their development and access to appropriate and sustainable markets. His clients have included international development agencies, business support organisations and businesses in developing countries. 

In South Africa, Kennie developed and delivered training for enterprises participating in trade fairs, for Just Exchange, a business support organisation working with small businesses to access the export market and promote the export of micro, small and medium enterprise craft/agro products to European Union countries. He also worked with the Ntsika Enterprise Development Agency (South Africa’s only black-led agency) on a R87 million, EU funded, project aimed at building capacity in small businesses to enable them to access export markets.

In Grenada, Kennie worked with two NGOs, GRENCODA and the Agency for Rural Transformation (ART), to assist in small business development for women and young people and training in the marketing of agro products. In Jamaica, he worked on behalf of DFID and undertook a feasibility study into the crafts and agro-processing sectors, working with government departments, small businesses and intermediary organisations. In Montserrat, Kennie undertook a DFID sponsored feasibility study for the Montserrat Government into how the small business sector could be revived post the volcanic eruptions.

In the UK, Kennie was a business advisor to small businesses in South London and he has managed projects designed to raise awareness of and develop social enterprise amongst voluntary organisations, to stimulate the development of community entrepreneurs. He is currently deputy director of a business support organisation for entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural industries.

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