Kidogo kidogo: Ella Davidson on learning little by little with NIRAS

Ella is part of our International Consultancy team and has been supporting the Energy Enterprise Coach (EEC) programme from the UK, Her time in East Africa gave her the chance to work alongside colleagues in Nairobi, Kenya and support EEC matchmaking events in Kampala, Uganda, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

And kidogo kidogo is one of the things that’s stuck with her.

“For me, ‘kidogo kidogo’ ended up being a good way to describe the experience. Through the ECDP I’ve learnt that you pick things up as you go, through the work, the people you meet and the challenges and excitement that come with being somewhere new. It’s the sort of learning that happens gradually.”

Learning through an established programme

When Ella joined EEC it was already well established, giving her the opportunity to learn from colleagues with considerable experience of the programme. This was to ensure and have support while learning company processes.

Ankit Agarwal, Principal Consultant in the NIRAS International Consultancy team, has played an important part in her development as a project manager, alongside her EEC counterpart Greg Oscar, in Nairobi.

“Ankit has been a significant part of my development as a project manager, allowing me to learn project management through practice, and working closely with Oscar has given me to learn operational tasks while taking on more responsibility myself. I really appreciate their enthusiasm to let me learn these new processes and get to understand EEC more extensively.”

A month with our Nairobi team

Spending a month in our Nairobi office meant Ella could work day to day with colleagues she had previously worked with remotely.

“A particular highlight was working alongside Oscar. We had been working remotely together for the six months prior on this project, so being able to collaborate in person provided valuable learning opportunities and strengthened our working relationship.”

Ella also found plenty of similarities between working with colleagues in Nairobi and the UK.

Meeting the businesses she had been supporting

Being based in Nairobi also enabled Ella to support EEC matchmaking events in Kampala and Addis Ababa, which brought together SMEs who had progressed through EEC’s support and local funding institutions. Supporting these matchmaking events allowed for further learning opportunities for Ella by collaborating with locally based colleagues to organise the events under mentorship from Ankit and Oscar.

To develop further technical skills, Ella was able to meet with SMEs at matchmaking events to help develop knowledge products for the client. During her time in Kampala, she visited the workshop of one of the SMEs and heard directly from its founder about her experience developing her business, which manufactures charcoal briquettes and stoves. In Addis Ababa, Ella met SMEs working in clean cooking, including a business producing its own cookstoves and injera stoves used to prepare a staple of Ethiopian food.

“When you are working from the UK, you can understand what a business does and support the work remotely, but being there is different. You get to meet the people you read about in spreadsheets and reports, and hear about their experience and see for yourself how the business operates and what support has meant to their growth.”

Developing together through ECDP

Ella is one of a number of colleagues taking part in ECDP, developing similar skills through different projects and areas of expertise.

“It is great to be in a cohort of ECDPs. We can learn from one another, exchange experiences and share what we’re learning as we go. ”

For Ella, the programme has provided opportunities to take on more responsibility, learn from colleagues and gain first-hand insight into the businesses she supports. As the first phase of EEC closes, Ella is able to translate this experience of project management to new opportunities as she continues to grow at NIRAS, little by little.