The creation of AfID was inspired by founder Neil Jennings’ volunteer assignment in Rwanda in 2007. Neil left his role as a Director for Robert Half International, the world’s largest & oldest international accountancy recruitment consultancy, to work as the overseas development director for a small Rwandan NGO set up by orphans and refugees of the 1994 genocide to give vulnerable children across the country access to education.
“It became obvious that whilst the staff had achieved amazing results with little resources, the survival of their activities hung desperately in the balance due to a lack of financial management experience and a faltering donor relationship. Volunteers had come and gone but sadly never addressing this issue and never really contributing to the long-term development and sustainability.”
After returning to the UK, Neil approached a number of volunteer organisations and found that the mismatching of volunteer’s skills was commonplace; the most relevant professional skills were frequently overlooked and few opportunities existed for highly skilled, employed professionals.
In September 2009, with the help of several small UK charities and five adventurous accountants, pilot assignments began in Cambodia, Tanzania and Malawi. By the end of that year 22 charities were on board and 14 assignments had been successfully completed in 6 developing countries.
Social Enterprise Awards
2012: Santander Social Enterprise Exchange UK Award
2010: UnLtd UK (The Millenium Awards Trust) Level 1 Award
2009: UnLtd UK (The Millenium Awards Trust) Level 1 Award
2012: Santander Social Enterprise Exchange UK Award
2010: UnLtd UK (The Millenium Awards Trust) Level 1 Award
2009: UnLtd UK (The Millenium Awards Trust) Level 1 Award
