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SWEETDEAL

PLUSNew Chancellor Roy McMurtry Bilingualism and the BrainThe Oscars, John Lennon and ‘Sir Jerry ’

Farouk Jiwa turnsrural Africans into

honey-makingentrepreneurs

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14 YorkU Summer 2008

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magine a honey of an idea as rewarding monetarily as it is socially. Farouk Jiwa did.The York grad (MES ’03), who is a native Kenyan, has spent the years since hisYork graduation making a remarkable contribution to his former country throughHoney Care Africa. HCA helps subsistence farmers improve their livelihoods byintroducing them to sustainable beekeeping. The company ensures that the rural

farmers – half of whom are women – access the capital they need for start-ups as well astraining and a guaranteed market for the honey at Fair Trade prices.

Although Jiwa now calls Canada home, he travels frequently to Kenya and other parts ofthe world, setting up and attending to the honey and other sustainable, micro-financedbusinesses he’s helped establish. His work involves principles that relate directly to his time atYork, which included gaining a graduate diploma in business & the environment offeredjointly by the Faculty of Environmental Studies and the Schulich School of Business. As earlyas 2005, Jiwa was recognized as One to Watch by York’s annual Bryden Alumni Awards.Now he is one of 50 prominent alumni who are part of the new “50 to the Power of 50”group supporting York’s $200-million fundraising campaign (see following story). The beeshave generated a lot of buzz.

“The decision to promote honey production as a micro-enterprise at the local communitylevel was driven by a number of factors,” says Jiwa. “From the market perspective, there wasclearly a demand for honey both locally and within the wider region. At the time, my partnersand I couldn’t understand why a tropical country like Kenya was importing honey all the wayfrom Australia and the US and yet we had a much more lush and vibrant flora. I wasparticularly keen on finding an income-generating activity that could be undertaken by

I

SWEETSUCCESS

Farouk Jiwa helps African subsistence farmers improve their lives through small, eco-friendly businesses like beekeeping. by michael toddphotography by georgina goodwin

stepping up: Jiwa in Nairobi

P14n15_YorkU_280350 5/2/08 1:49 PM Page 14

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14 YorkU Summer 2008

C O V E R

magine a honey of an idea as rewarding monetarily as it is socially. Farouk Jiwa did.The York grad (MES ’03), who is a native Kenyan, has spent the years since hisYork graduation making a remarkable contribution to his former country throughHoney Care Africa. HCA helps subsistence farmers improve their livelihoods byintroducing them to sustainable beekeeping. The company ensures that the rural

farmers – half of whom are women – access the capital they need for start-ups as well astraining and a guaranteed market for the honey at Fair Trade prices.

Although Jiwa now calls Canada home, he travels frequently to Kenya and other parts ofthe world, setting up and attending to the honey and other sustainable, micro-financedbusinesses he’s helped establish. His work involves principles that relate directly to his time atYork, which included gaining a graduate diploma in business & the environment offeredjointly by the Faculty of Environmental Studies and the Schulich School of Business. As earlyas 2005, Jiwa was recognized as One to Watch by York’s annual Bryden Alumni Awards.Now he is one of 50 prominent alumni who are part of the new “50 to the Power of 50”group supporting York’s $200-million fundraising campaign (see following story). The beeshave generated a lot of buzz.

“The decision to promote honey production as a micro-enterprise at the local communitylevel was driven by a number of factors,” says Jiwa. “From the market perspective, there wasclearly a demand for honey both locally and within the wider region. At the time, my partnersand I couldn’t understand why a tropical country like Kenya was importing honey all the wayfrom Australia and the US and yet we had a much more lush and vibrant flora. I wasparticularly keen on finding an income-generating activity that could be undertaken by

I

SWEETSUCCESS

Farouk Jiwa helps African subsistence farmers improve their lives through small, eco-friendly businesses like beekeeping. by michael toddphotography by georgina goodwin

stepping up: Jiwa in Nairobi

P14n15_YorkU_280350 5/2/08 1:49 PM Page 14

QC

PDF

Speed Mentoring

YorkU Summer 2008 17

E V E N T S

etting career advice frommentors like former lieutenant-governor Lincoln Alexanderor top banker Bill Hatanaka

was already a rare opportunity for a luckygroup of students at the launch of York’s“50 to the Power of 50” group of promi-nent alumni. But these were life lessonson steroids, delivered at a set of tables inthe elegant CIBC Lobby of York’s Acco-lade East Building on March 26, one yearbefore York’s 50th birthday. You’veheard of speed dating? This was speedmentoring.

As emcee Barbara Budd (BA ’74) ofCBC Radio’s “As It Happens” kept timewith a bell, students moved from table totable every five minutes to soak upwisdom from luminaries as varied asformer TVO chief Isabel Bassett (MA’73), Ontario Science Centre CEOLesley Lewis (BA ’71) and lawyer DaleLastman (LLB ’82). They are among the50 grads who will act as ambassadors forthe $200-million York to the Power of50 fundraising campaign as it gears up forYork’s anniversary year.

Sunita Moharaj, an accounting student,did one of her five-minute interviewswith Hatanaka (BA ’77), chairman andCEO of TD Waterhouse Canada and co-chair of the York to the Power of 50 cam-paign. For Moharaj, it wasn’t as muchwhat was said, as who was saying it. “I’dheard some of the career advice aboutbeing well-rounded before,” she said,“but to hear it from someone likeWilliam was definitely an eye-opener.”

G Hatanaka told her of challenges he facedin a career transition from professionalfootball player to financier and advisedher to take everything she could from heruniversity experience.

Alexander (LLB ’53) and administra-tive studies student Tamara Gordon –both black and seated in wheelchairs –talked about the dual challenge of copingwith disability and racism. “I want you tolet people know, that when you look atme, don’t look at my handicap, look atwhat I can give to the world,” saidAlexander, who added words of advice onwhat not to do from his days in the ’50sas an Osgoode law student facing racism.“Stand up against wrong,” he said.“When anyone demeans you, check them– but do it quietly. I did it in front of 250students. Don’t do it the way I did.”

Irina Millo, a fourth-year accountingstudent, so impressed her mentor, CBCRadio host Jian Ghomeshi (BA ’95), withher involvement in campus life that he said,“It doesn’t sound like you need any men-toring, you’re doing fine.” But Millo wel-comed Ghomeshi’s assessment that partici-pating in campus life would help set herapart from other applicants in her field.

Ivan Fecan (BA ’01), chair of the “50to the Power of 50” group and head ofCTVglobemedia and CTV Inc., wasimpressed with the way the students hemet went straight for “big-picture ques-tions”. “They were all remarkably smartand self-aware,” he said. And after sevenrounds of speed-mentoring, maybe alittle more so. Y

16 YorkU Summer 2008

C O V E R

small-holder subsistence farmers, who represent a majority of thepopulation, and didn’t require heavy inputs or buying more land.”

The decision to pursue honey production was also stronglyinfluenced by the positive environmental impact that beescreate, Jiwa adds. They pollinate native vegetation and foodcrops, and beekeeping could be done on the periphery offorests and national parks as an alternative to charcoal produc-tion. “Finally, we were looking for a commodity that was non-perishable because of the problems with road transportation inrural areas, so we needed a product that would keep well.Honey seemed to be the natural answer.”

Jiwa comes by his entrepreneurship skills naturally, it seems.“My father was a serial entrepreneur and my mother a schoolteacher. Between them, they ensured that my brother and I notonly got a sound education but that we were well-grounded andhad a clear sense of the important values in life.” As a fourth-generation Asian-Kenyan and part of the first post-independencegeneration, he says, “I was fortunate to grow up in a strong,stable and cohesive community environment. From a very earlyage, this gave me a very good understanding of the power ofcommunities and a sense of just what can be achieved whenpeople come together and work towards a common goal.”

HCA was launched in 2000 and, as part of his master’sdegree at York, Jiwa continued to work on elaborating hisinnovative business model. The initiative got a tremendousboost from its first significant project, worth $50,000, with theDanish government’s interna-tional development agency,Danida. HCA manufacturedthe widely used Langstrothhives and distributed them tosmall farmers who typicallyworked less than 0.8 of ahectare. In the early days Jiwadistributed 100 of the hiveshe’d made to 25 families ineastern Kenya. The result washighly successful. “Our first harvest was a mere 300 kgs ofhoney and collectively made only $500,” he notes. “However,that proved our model worked and gave us, the farmers andother partners the confidence to continue. We haven’t lookedback since.” According to HCA, the company captured 27 percent of the domestic honey market in Kenya within its first fouryears of business and established a network of 2,500 beekeeperswho earned between US$200 and $250 a year, often doubletheir previous earnings. That market share is now close to 40per cent and there are nearly 9,000 households across EastAfrica involved in beekeeping with HCA.

Honey Care’s business strategy has been to put the small-holder farmers at the centre of the business and to build a“Kenya first” marketing approach, says Jiwa. This involvesfocusing on the needs of the rural farmers to encourage themto start honey production, and to first serve the considerable

demand for honey in major Kenya hotels, retail outlets andlocal industries before pursuing the export market. Now, with astrong foothold in Kenya’s domestic market, Honey Care hasexpanded honey sales to neighbouring Tanzania, the US andEurope. Although the recent political turbulence in Kenyacaused some temporary problems for HCA, says Jiwa, thedecline of honey bees noted in some parts of the world has notaffected East Africa.

HCA’s success has received international recognition. In2003 it won the prestigious Equator Prize from the UnitedNations Development Program along with several other awardsfor social entrepreneurship. The Equator Prize recognizesinnovative community partnerships that reduce povertythrough conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Jiwawas also recognized as one of the “Most OutstandingSocial Entrepreneurs” by the Schwab Foundation at the WorldEconomic Forum in 2005 and received a World BusinessAward from the Prince of Wales International Business LeadersForum.

In 2006, Jiwa joined CARE Canada as director of CAREEnterprise Partners, a social venture capital unit that seekslasting solutions to poverty through market-based approachesdesigned to unleash entrepreneurship in emerging economies.His most recent initiative with CARE Canada was a partnershipwith Trade Facilitation Office Canada to support Gone Rural,an innovative social venture based in Swaziland, to successfully

find a market for its productsin Canada. Gone Rural seeksto improve the lives of ruralwomen who use traditionalskills to create attractivebowls, placemats and otherhighly marketable householditems in home-based busi-nesses. This joint initiativewon the 2007 CanadianManufacturers and Exporters

International Cooperation Award for Excellence.“Growing up in a country where more than half the popula-

tion lives in abject poverty earning less than $1 a day, where somuch human potential goes unrealized because people arestruggling to meet basic needs, and a country where getting aneducation is a privilege rather than a right, I was determined touse the opportunity I had been given to get a university educa-tion to try and make some contribution towards addressingthese enormous challenges,” says Jiwa.

“A sense of empathy is a very strong driver for what I do. Ialways try to remember that had circumstances been a littledifferent, I could very well be one of the millions of peopleliving below the poverty line. I therefore try my level best toprovide the encouragement, advice and support to others that Iwould have wanted them to provide to me if I was in theirshoes, and in a way that doesn’t take away their pride.” Y

With a strong foothold inKenya’s market, Honey Carehas expanded sales toTanzania, the US and Europe.

Members of York’s new ‘50 to the Power of 50’ alumni group offer quick life lessons to students. by david fuller ■ photography by gary beechey

rare opportunity: (From top) student Maria Christoforou gets advice; student UjjwalRamdas with Debra Brown (BFA Spec. Hons. ’78); Fecan with student Ivan Katsevman;student Billy Lee with Ghomeshi; Sandie Rinaldo (BA Spec. Hons. ’73) offers herthoughts; Gordon with Alexander

P16n17_YorkU_280350 5/2/08 11:04 AM Page 16

QC

PDF

Speed Mentoring

YorkU Summer 2008 17

E V E N T S

etting career advice frommentors like former lieutenant-governor Lincoln Alexanderor top banker Bill Hatanaka

was already a rare opportunity for a luckygroup of students at the launch of York’s“50 to the Power of 50” group of promi-nent alumni. But these were life lessonson steroids, delivered at a set of tables inthe elegant CIBC Lobby of York’s Acco-lade East Building on March 26, one yearbefore York’s 50th birthday. You’veheard of speed dating? This was speedmentoring.

As emcee Barbara Budd (BA ’74) ofCBC Radio’s “As It Happens” kept timewith a bell, students moved from table totable every five minutes to soak upwisdom from luminaries as varied asformer TVO chief Isabel Bassett (MA’73), Ontario Science Centre CEOLesley Lewis (BA ’71) and lawyer DaleLastman (LLB ’82). They are among the50 grads who will act as ambassadors forthe $200-million York to the Power of50 fundraising campaign as it gears up forYork’s anniversary year.

Sunita Moharaj, an accounting student,did one of her five-minute interviewswith Hatanaka (BA ’77), chairman andCEO of TD Waterhouse Canada and co-chair of the York to the Power of 50 cam-paign. For Moharaj, it wasn’t as muchwhat was said, as who was saying it. “I’dheard some of the career advice aboutbeing well-rounded before,” she said,“but to hear it from someone likeWilliam was definitely an eye-opener.”

G Hatanaka told her of challenges he facedin a career transition from professionalfootball player to financier and advisedher to take everything she could from heruniversity experience.

Alexander (LLB ’53) and administra-tive studies student Tamara Gordon –both black and seated in wheelchairs –talked about the dual challenge of copingwith disability and racism. “I want you tolet people know, that when you look atme, don’t look at my handicap, look atwhat I can give to the world,” saidAlexander, who added words of advice onwhat not to do from his days in the ’50sas an Osgoode law student facing racism.“Stand up against wrong,” he said.“When anyone demeans you, check them– but do it quietly. I did it in front of 250students. Don’t do it the way I did.”

Irina Millo, a fourth-year accountingstudent, so impressed her mentor, CBCRadio host Jian Ghomeshi (BA ’95), withher involvement in campus life that he said,“It doesn’t sound like you need any men-toring, you’re doing fine.” But Millo wel-comed Ghomeshi’s assessment that partici-pating in campus life would help set herapart from other applicants in her field.

Ivan Fecan (BA ’01), chair of the “50to the Power of 50” group and head ofCTVglobemedia and CTV Inc., wasimpressed with the way the students hemet went straight for “big-picture ques-tions”. “They were all remarkably smartand self-aware,” he said. And after sevenrounds of speed-mentoring, maybe alittle more so. Y

16 YorkU Summer 2008

C O V E R

small-holder subsistence farmers, who represent a majority of thepopulation, and didn’t require heavy inputs or buying more land.”

The decision to pursue honey production was also stronglyinfluenced by the positive environmental impact that beescreate, Jiwa adds. They pollinate native vegetation and foodcrops, and beekeeping could be done on the periphery offorests and national parks as an alternative to charcoal produc-tion. “Finally, we were looking for a commodity that was non-perishable because of the problems with road transportation inrural areas, so we needed a product that would keep well.Honey seemed to be the natural answer.”

Jiwa comes by his entrepreneurship skills naturally, it seems.“My father was a serial entrepreneur and my mother a schoolteacher. Between them, they ensured that my brother and I notonly got a sound education but that we were well-grounded andhad a clear sense of the important values in life.” As a fourth-generation Asian-Kenyan and part of the first post-independencegeneration, he says, “I was fortunate to grow up in a strong,stable and cohesive community environment. From a very earlyage, this gave me a very good understanding of the power ofcommunities and a sense of just what can be achieved whenpeople come together and work towards a common goal.”

HCA was launched in 2000 and, as part of his master’sdegree at York, Jiwa continued to work on elaborating hisinnovative business model. The initiative got a tremendousboost from its first significant project, worth $50,000, with theDanish government’s interna-tional development agency,Danida. HCA manufacturedthe widely used Langstrothhives and distributed them tosmall farmers who typicallyworked less than 0.8 of ahectare. In the early days Jiwadistributed 100 of the hiveshe’d made to 25 families ineastern Kenya. The result washighly successful. “Our first harvest was a mere 300 kgs ofhoney and collectively made only $500,” he notes. “However,that proved our model worked and gave us, the farmers andother partners the confidence to continue. We haven’t lookedback since.” According to HCA, the company captured 27 percent of the domestic honey market in Kenya within its first fouryears of business and established a network of 2,500 beekeeperswho earned between US$200 and $250 a year, often doubletheir previous earnings. That market share is now close to 40per cent and there are nearly 9,000 households across EastAfrica involved in beekeeping with HCA.

Honey Care’s business strategy has been to put the small-holder farmers at the centre of the business and to build a“Kenya first” marketing approach, says Jiwa. This involvesfocusing on the needs of the rural farmers to encourage themto start honey production, and to first serve the considerable

demand for honey in major Kenya hotels, retail outlets andlocal industries before pursuing the export market. Now, with astrong foothold in Kenya’s domestic market, Honey Care hasexpanded honey sales to neighbouring Tanzania, the US andEurope. Although the recent political turbulence in Kenyacaused some temporary problems for HCA, says Jiwa, thedecline of honey bees noted in some parts of the world has notaffected East Africa.

HCA’s success has received international recognition. In2003 it won the prestigious Equator Prize from the UnitedNations Development Program along with several other awardsfor social entrepreneurship. The Equator Prize recognizesinnovative community partnerships that reduce povertythrough conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Jiwawas also recognized as one of the “Most OutstandingSocial Entrepreneurs” by the Schwab Foundation at the WorldEconomic Forum in 2005 and received a World BusinessAward from the Prince of Wales International Business LeadersForum.

In 2006, Jiwa joined CARE Canada as director of CAREEnterprise Partners, a social venture capital unit that seekslasting solutions to poverty through market-based approachesdesigned to unleash entrepreneurship in emerging economies.His most recent initiative with CARE Canada was a partnershipwith Trade Facilitation Office Canada to support Gone Rural,an innovative social venture based in Swaziland, to successfully

find a market for its productsin Canada. Gone Rural seeksto improve the lives of ruralwomen who use traditionalskills to create attractivebowls, placemats and otherhighly marketable householditems in home-based busi-nesses. This joint initiativewon the 2007 CanadianManufacturers and Exporters

International Cooperation Award for Excellence.“Growing up in a country where more than half the popula-

tion lives in abject poverty earning less than $1 a day, where somuch human potential goes unrealized because people arestruggling to meet basic needs, and a country where getting aneducation is a privilege rather than a right, I was determined touse the opportunity I had been given to get a university educa-tion to try and make some contribution towards addressingthese enormous challenges,” says Jiwa.

“A sense of empathy is a very strong driver for what I do. Ialways try to remember that had circumstances been a littledifferent, I could very well be one of the millions of peopleliving below the poverty line. I therefore try my level best toprovide the encouragement, advice and support to others that Iwould have wanted them to provide to me if I was in theirshoes, and in a way that doesn’t take away their pride.” Y

With a strong foothold inKenya’s market, Honey Carehas expanded sales toTanzania, the US and Europe.

Members of York’s new ‘50 to the Power of 50’ alumni group offer quick life lessons to students. by david fuller ■ photography by gary beechey

rare opportunity: (From top) student Maria Christoforou gets advice; student UjjwalRamdas with Debra Brown (BFA Spec. Hons. ’78); Fecan with student Ivan Katsevman;student Billy Lee with Ghomeshi; Sandie Rinaldo (BA Spec. Hons. ’73) offers herthoughts; Gordon with Alexander

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QC