Weekend Safari

For much of the world, Africa is best known for its thousands of species of mammals, birds, insects and reptiles. Of course, just as important are its vast complexities of people, cultures and countries. That being said, the animals are incredible to see! This past weekend I joined two of my new friends, Craig and Crystal, on a safari through the National Park of Nairobi. We rented a taxi and drove for hours through herds of giraffes, zebras and water buffalo. I found it crazy.... all these animals walking around literally at the doorstep of a city of three million people. But yes, one of the best game parks in Kenya is only 15 minutes from my office.

The moment we entered the “lion territory” our 2wd minivan became bogged down in the mud. Our driver grabbed a shovel and started digging. Craig and I decided to get out and push while Crystal kept watch for any dangerous predators. Fortunately for us, nothing approached in the 40 minutes it took to get the van turned around and headed back to the paved roads. We did not see any lions or cheetahs but we hope this will be one of many safaris to come. Before today, my only exposure to some of these magnificent animals was in a zoo. The real thing is so much better!

It took a long time to upload these pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/nat.robinson/NairobiSafari

Week 1 in Nairobi

Parts of this city are right out of Born Free or the Lion King (not that I have seen either of those
movies) with the rolling savannas and acacia trees, while other areas give support for the city’s nickname, “Nairoberry”. My digs are located in the southwest part of the city near a major tourist market called the Ya Ya center. I was pleased to find my office was only a few blocks away and housed in the top floor of the tallest (and nicest) building in the area. It got even better when the president of the bank (Aleke Dondo) showed me my corner desk with spectacular views of the rolling highlands in the distance. Aleke is a local and international celebrity who seems to care a lot about my experience in Nairobi. I have found most of the local Kenyans and K-Rep employees to be overwhelmingly friendly and welcoming.

My immediate role at K-Rep is to assist the organization in building up their financial reports to qualify for some major financing from the Grassroots Business Fund. I sit with a small army of young accountants and try to decipher as much of the relevant financial and accounting statements as possible. Yes, I am the only American in the office which gives me flashbacks of my intern days in Shanghai. I never thought I would miss high-speed internet access but life is rough without it. Things like Skype, streaming fantasy football scores and even Facebook are nearly impossible to use. It will be tough to post any more pictures until I figure something out...

Kenya believe it?

Thank you for joining my post! I will attempt to update this site regularly with pictures and stories about my time in Africa.

For those of you who thought I was going to Germany… there was a change of plans. The whole AFRICOM position did not materialize and the MBA Enterprise Corps reassigned me to a project in Nairobi, Kenya with a former IFC/World Bank fund. Somehow, I managed to squeeze in four months of vacation in Colorado during this “transition” period. Thanks to all of you who facilitated my 14 days of fly fishing, 24 rounds of golf and the 5 summits on Colorado 14ers.

Background

The MBAEC approach is similar to the concept of the Peace Corps. They send professionals to developing areas of the world to work “on the ground” with local communities, NGOs and governments. The MBAEC believes they can leverage the talents of recent MBA graduates to improve the lives of small businesses owners around the world. The participants this year will be traveling to places like Angola, Mali, Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea to work on projects such as rural tourism development and microfinance.

In 2007, I graduated from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University with plenty of academic idealism fueled by a graduation speech from the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus. The MBAEC provided me with a venue to turn my passion for global poverty alleviation into action through a project with a social venture capital firm called the Grassroots Business Fund. I will be helping a local microfinance bank called K-Rep on a due diligence process to qualify them for a new financing package. My most recent employer, Accenture, has graciously granted me a leave of absence to spend a year overseas to partake in this endeavor. Thanks again.

My MBAEC contract lasts until July and I anticipate being able to explore much of Kenya and Africa in that time.

Please check back to find out more.