The idea for the business had been in my thoughts for some time, and then in 2018 I saw an opportunity to combine my passion, skills and knowledge from my professional career and personal lived experience. I think looking back, most of all I wanted the freedom and flexibility to make my own choices.

I started out in the advertising world, and I wanted to recreate the creative hub approach whereby different disciplines combine to answer client needs. There were a few things that were still undecided at that point, but I knew I wanted to work in this way.

Passion wise it’s always been the power of words to engage, share ideas, spark debate and form relationships. I’ve always cared about people on the margins (that’s my parent’s influence I suppose), and as time went on I began to question why it always seemed to be the same people who weren’t getting ahead in the world of work. That led me to assess the dynamics of work life and how good cultures form and what sustains them.

So once I had the what, words or rather communications, inclusion and culture - I moved onto the how. That was going to be doing business the right way, being deliberate and selective. I wanted to work with organisations that sought to do something meaningful through purpose, whether they are commercial, not-for-profit, foundations, social enterprise, charities, B Corps or membership bodies.

Whilst you won’t see a values page on this website, you could say curiosity, passionate, decent and being true to ourselves are our guiding principles.

Finally our name; identity is a big part of what defines us as individuals. So I wanted something that had meaning and evoked my Ugandan heritage, a beautiful vibrant country in East Africa and the place my parents are from. Buganda, is a central district in the country where ‘Luganda’ is the language spoken along with English*.okusoka is taken from Luganda, it means to start with, the beginning.

It’s probably often repeated but Confucius said "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life". That’s a good way to describe where the business is now, with new opportunities presenting themselves, and still having the freedom to choose and determine the future.

*It’s amazing what bias people hold, people seem genuinely surprised to learn that English is so widely spoken and taught across the continent of Africa, this in itself tells its own story.

Mr Mbaziira (senior) and I, wearing our Kanzu the formal wear of Baganda men

So here are a few words about the way we work with our associates, the + co from our company name. Many of the people who work with us are people we’ve known, admired and worked with for a long time. Others are those whose paths we’ve crossed more recently.

All bring a slightly different interpretation of their respective disciplines that we are able to call upon and integrate into the services we offer; through active collaboration, sense checking possible solutions or being part of the project team.

Ultimately, we practice what we preach and believe that different perspectives enable diverse thinking that delivers creative sustainable solutions for our clients. Our associates play a key role in this process, drawing on their knowledge, professional and lived experience to determine the right approach to deliver meaningful long-term change.

David is a passionate advocate for all areas of diversity and inclusion.

A communications practitioner with over 25 years’ experience, he has worked in both advertising agency and client side senior roles in the financial, not for profit and sport sectors.

He created strategic projects and change programmes for the sport sector whilst working at a specialist equality and diversity consultancy in the lead up to London 2012.

David has spoken at international events and conferences on a range of issues including the power of inclusion, creating positive organisational culture, learning from failure, public trust and media perception, growing income from individual giving and fundraising regulation.

David is currently working with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising supporting them on Safeguarding and Inclusion.