His studies in modern and theoretical history taught him to view the world, reflect, analyse and learn from the past in order to take the right steps in the present. Joachim Westerveld carried these lessons into his entrepreneurial ventures. 

Joachim, who or what inspired you to attend the UvA? 

‘Great question because originally, I had no intention of going to university and wanted to make nature films in Kenya after high school. My father lived there and had a safari business. I went there, but it didn’t quite work out for me. 

So at Christmas 1993, I found myself back home in the Netherlands, thinking about what to do next. I could go to film school or think about how to view the world. 

I decided I wanted to learn to observe and think about society. Philosophy seemed too vague to me. Then, on 3 January, I came across a brochure from UvA: Modern and Theoretical History. I decided to enrol, and I could start in the third trimester. 

My thought was: if you learn about the past, you can reflect, analyse and understand how things have come to be. That seemed very useful for everything that needs to happen in the present or future.’  

What did the UvA bring you; did you learn about entrepreneurship there as well? 

‘I didn’t know back then that I was an entrepreneur. However, I was always restless and thought things could be better. This began at the UvA, where I, along with a few classmates, felt that the education at the Faculty of Humanities could be improved and changed. So we organised meetings, debated with lecturers and challenged them to improve education. 

They responded by saying, “If you know so much, help us organise it differently.” As a result, I was able to contribute as a student assistant to new teaching methods, such as ‘History on Location’ for first-year students. 

We created programmes for lectures at historical sites, like a Reformed church in Enkhuizen and the Palace on the Dam. At the places where history had happened, passionate lectures were given by fantastic teachers. Looking back, I was already engaging in entrepreneurship, and the UvA provided that opportunity.’  

What is your fondest memory of the UvA? 

‘I had a very thorough history education from excellent lecturers, such as Wichert ten Have, for which I am immensely grateful. Additionally, the UvA taught me to express what you say in the most essential form. How to put your ideas on paper clearly and with as few words as possible. How to distill something complex into a comprehensible essence, so you can take action on it. I still use that as an entrepreneur.’  

Mara Foundation 
During a symposium, I met Jacco Brink, my current business partner. We clicked and both became involved with the Mara Foundation, which organised emergency relief transport to former Yugoslavia shortly after the war there. 

We traveled across the country giving lectures and asked if we could spend the last 5 minutes talking about the Mara Foundation. As briefly and powerfully as possible. And we requested that people fill out a form allowing us to deduct ten guilders per month from their account. 

With a hundred students, we raised ten thousand guilders, which allowed us to organise transportation with medicines and other necessities for hospitals or orphanages. And it worked, thanks again to that communication.’  

How do you make a difference through your work? 

‘I have worked for WarChild in Sudan and set up the mission in Eritrea. After some experiences with NGOs worldwide, I eventually worked for Refugee Work Amsterdam in the Netherlands. 

Jacco and I then said: emergency aid in war zones is very important, but not structural. If you want real structural change, you need to build businesses in countries and create a healthy economy. Businesses bring knowledge, innovation and livelihoods. 

If you pay well, employees can send their children to school. If you can create prosperity, you are building a society. And people will not need to flee. This insight came partly from my history studies. 

In 2004, we started The Blue Link. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was just emerging. We set up companies, partly thanks to investment programmes in emerging markets from the Dutch government. We now have five in the food and dairy sectors in Pakistan and Kenya, one of which is B-Corp certified, with over 1,500 employees.’  

Liveable wage principle: 30% more salary 

‘We pay all our employees in Pakistan and Kenya according to the liveable wage principle, which is 30% more than the standard salary. The standard salary is insufficient for rent, school healthcare. This causes stress, problems and a survival mode with all the associated issues. 

With a fair wage, they can support their families, send their children to school and develop themselves. This makes people very motivated and they deliver excellent work. 

We have a people-first strategy in as flat an organisation as possible and invest more in our staff than we ever have before. Result? Our profitability and growth have soared. I am very proud of our people; they are exceptional. They are engaged in what they do and feel they truly contribute to the company's success.’  

Finally, what advice would you give to new students or alumni? 

‘A university education has at least two dimensions. You learn what you learn, but you also learn how to learn. The real value of a university education is learning how to research, how to view reality, how to ask questions, how to analyse, and how to reach conclusions. Be aware of this as a student.’  

Education in Kenya 

My dream, besides furthering the sustainability of our companies, is to transform education in Kenya. In Europe and the Netherlands, education is focused on discovery, play, entrepreneurship, project learning. However, in emerging countries like Kenya, the teacher dictates: I say how it is, you must repeat it. This results in people being insufficiently agile and creative to be successful. 

People sometimes ask me: what is the recipe for success? It is two things: curiosity and discipline. If you are curious, you can learn and question how things can be different. You become creative and intrinsically motivated. And only if you can apply the discipline to actually act on that, you can succeed.’