103
PowerList 2008
SAMUEL KASUMU, 20
Director, Elevation Networks
ElEvation nEtworks is a student-led social enterprise company that
aims to bridge the gap between under-represented groups and professional
industries. or to put it more eloquently, ‘influence a generation of young
people into a belief system that challenges the impossible, overcomes
barriers, and provides a gateway for aspiration to become tangible goals’.
these are the words of the organisation’s director, samuel kasumu
(left), who, after being elected President of the Brunel University’s african/
Caribbean society in 2006, made a conscious decision to introduce
activities that would help students prepare for employment and their
future careers, alongside the usual raves and parties. He did this by
getting together a small team of like-minded individuals and liaising with
corporates such iBM and Barclays Bank to put on various networking and
information-gathering events. Currently vice-President of Brunel’s student
union, samuel oversees education and welfare for 14,000 students. this
has led him to want to expand the reach of the network, which now covers
several universities. His ethos: ‘Celebrating and elevating a positive image
of ethnicity’.
saMUEl: ‘i am doing a business and management accounting degree.
i graduate next year, but i will continue on with Elevation networks. at
the moment people associate us with higher education because we are at
university, but we also have an interest in looking at the complete academic
life cycle. we believe that if you start trying to tackle certain issues young,
then those individuals will be more equipped when they start university.
My three passions are business, politics and teaching.
‘i have been involved in all three while in university. on the teaching
side of things, i always take the opportunity to offer any information i have
to anyone i feel needs it.’
www.elevationnetworks.co.uk
ANDrEw SKEENE, 30
Managing Director, Global Forestry Investments Ltd
andrEw skEEnE believes money grows on trees. His dubai-based
company sells forestry as a long-term investment.
the principle is quite basic. Essentially, GFi buys land in countries such
as Brazil, Peru, Ghana, Panama, Ecuador and argentina and plants teak trees
on it. it then splits the land up into plots and sells them on to investors who
benefit from the increasing scarcity of hardwood from certified sources.
at the same time, by planting its own plantations the company reduces
pressure on natural rainforests.
andrew says that he encourages investors to stay in for the long term,
but they can sell at any time, either back to GFi or on the open market.
at any rate, every three years 20% of the trees on a plantation have to be
cut down, a process called thinning, to allow the others space to grow. in
countries such as Panama it is possible to make 20 - 30% profits per year.
andrew only started the company in april, but he has been in property
for a long time and sees this as a logical extension of what he was already
doing. He expects to see a turnover of about £2m in the next 12 months.
andrEw: ‘i wanted to do something where people could feel good about
their money. Green businesses are the way forward. For every hectare we
sell we plant a hectare of our own that will be left alone. that way we cover
our carbon footprint. our target is to have 2,000 hectares untouched.
‘this is not a new business, we’re simply bringing new marketing
techniques to it.’
www.globalforestryinvestments.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128