SHORT 'Why Trust Beats Strategy: Izzy Horrocks on Social Enterprise in Africa

A really warm welcome to Purposely SHORT, short as in not long—a weekly episode featuring one of our past guests and their expertise on a certain topic. The aim is to give you a useful insight that you can action, helping you to deliver on your charitable mission. Enjoy.

In this week’s episode, Izzy Horrocks, co-founder of Aotearoa Lifecourse Foundation, shares a deeply personal story from her time in East Africa—beginning with her first overwhelming experience arriving in Addis Ababa at 19, and later co-founding a social enterprise in Kenya aimed at helping small hold farmers access fairer markets.

Izzy reflects on what she learned from building (and ultimately winding down) that venture: the limits of well-meaning ambition, the primacy of trust in communities, and the danger of imposing solutions without lived experience. Her story offers a rare and honest glimpse into what it means to fail well, and why true impact starts with listening and humility.

This formative journey has shaped Izzy’s worldview and directly influenced her founding of Aotearoa Lifecourse Foundation, where she now champions a more grounded, relational approach to philanthropy.