Being one of Globally Cool’s founding fathers, the story of Joost obviously can’t be skipped. In 1999 he started the company together with Onno. Of course, a lot has changed since then. “I evolved from mainly being active in the field to part-time consultant, lead in sales & new business and manager operations. This entails everything related to the office in terms of planning, project management, human resources, tools, and systems. Contrary to the other two partners, I’m the one that’s most often present and, moreover, the managing part is also one of the roles I like to play.”
Achieving real added value
“Looking at the consultancy work I still do, this year I lead projects in Ghana and Kyrgyzstan. The project in Ghana is for the Business Support Organisation (BSO) GEPA and in 2016 they were looking for a partner to build a market hub for products like shea butter and mangoes. Since then, our collaboration has expanded, and I have visited GEPA yearly four to five times. On the other hand, there’s a project in Kyrgyzstan, where we’re backing a BSO as well. With a team of four Kirgizians, we work on export development for honey, black beans, and meat. Together, we conduct market research, optimize trade analysis skills, promote Kyrgyz exportable offer to the world, and make sure that exporters receive the right information. What’s satisfactory is when the people you work with are eager to use the tips and tricks that we hand over, even though they’re already occupied with other tasks. Achieving real added value, that keeps me going.”