2019 | Clea Year in Review
The start of 2020 marks a year since Clea opened its doors as a not-for-profit CIC delivering IT support in the charity sector. Clea’s Founder Ged Kennedy shares his thoughts on 2019 and what Clea has planned for 2020.
In Clea’s first year, what was the highlight for you?
It has been a busy first year! Working with Build It International has been a core part of our 2019 and we are absolutely thrilled to see their CEO Andrew Jowett awarded an OBE for services to education in Zambia.
The Zambia launch workshop we held in July at BongoHive was definitely a highlight. It was exciting to see the enthusiasm and demand for quality non-profit IT services amongst non-profit organisations. With speakers from ZICTA, Build It International and the Asikana Network, the conversations were thought-provoking.
We were also very honoured that Mr. Patrick Mutimushi, Director General of the Zambian Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), kindly joined us to say a few words on ZICTA’s work and the importance of ensuring quality, secure, accessible and affordable ICT services across Zambia – an aim shared by everyone in the room!
And the biggest challenge?
A challenge in the non-profit sector more widely is funding – especially unrestricted funding for overheads. Though most people want to invest in their IT systems and strategy, it is not always easy to match the funding to these organisational goals – even if it is more economical over the longer term. We are working on a number of ways to address this, so watch this space.
The Clea team is based in both Zambia and the UK; how do you make sure the week runs smoothly?
We try to practice what we preach! We use the Office 365 toolkit as our foundation for collaboration on our projects, including Microsoft Teams for calls, chat and document sharing. By putting our money where our mouth is, we can more effectively help our clients use the same tools and we try to iron out any issues in advance.
Since moving into the non-profit world, what has been the biggest surprise to you?
Admittedly it has surprised me that IT is often seen as a ‘nice-to-have’. Understandably IT is most often not part of a charity’s core mission, but healthy IT and tech can save so much time, money and headaches down the line regardless of programme area.
What has also been a revelation is how deep and wide the cyber security threat facing non-profits is. It is really very unfortunate that charities carrying out such great work are targeted in this manner.
What have you learnt in 2019 that will increase Clea’s impact in 2020?
In 2019, we have further developed our expertise in the precise issues affecting UK Zambian non-profits.
Alongside our core project work, our team carried out a number of tech assessments for Zambian non-profits, including Zatulet, Oxfam, Habitat for Humanity and Nowspar. What became evident is that many charities and non-profits have common IT demands.
We are therefore building a common foundation of skills, tools and guides so Clea can deliver more effectively – and at less cost for each charity – to a greater number of charities. We hope this will boost our impact and that of the charities we work for.
What are Clea’s three main aims for 2020?
Our core aims are firstly to expand our Zambian team of tech analysts, with a focus on diversifying our team. Secondly, we will be formally launching our Give IT Back volunteer programme and thirdly, we are working towards our Office 365 Teamwork Practitioner certification.
What technological development could you no longer live without?
The internet! It underpins modern life, for better and for worse. We all take it for granted to an extent but the ability to work as if side by side from the other side of the world is quite incredible really.
How will tech best boost the impact of charities in 2020?
We think that collaboration using tools like Microsoft Teams will slowly prove to be a game changer. Small changes in working practices can lead to huge gains!
What do you think?
What was your biggest obstacle of 2019? Is there a tech solution to help you in 2020? Connect with us to set up an introduction chat to see where you are at with your IT strategy and how Clea could help boost your charity’s impact.