Adventure partners hold debut meeting on Mt Kilimanjaro

AS business meetings go, this was the ultimate boardroom summit.

Perched atop Africa’s largest mountain – 20,000ft above sea level – may not be the most practical location for an AGM.

But for one Leith-based firm it seemed the perfect answer to the question of where to hold its first in-house business meeting.

Senior management from Really Wild Challenges trekked for six days to scale Mount Kilimanjaro – the site of the company’s debut AGM – but once at the apex, corporate speak was understandably cut short by the sub-zero temperatures and breathtaking scenery.

The high-altitude, and rather unlikely, conference space was chosen by partners of the Commercial Street company to bring together staff from their international outposts in Peru, Morocco, Tanzania, Nepal and Edinburgh for the first time.

The firm arranges challenge events in some of the world’s most spectacular destinations, including trips to Machu Picchu in Peru, treks through the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, ascents to Everest Base Camp and expeditions to the Great Wall of China.

Unlike many similar ventures, it employs native staff from each country to manage overseas operations and guide participants.

Co-founder Dan Quille, 29, said the Kilimanjaro AGM allowed key members of their workforce to bond and see first-hand the business they are promoting.

He said: “I would be lying if I said we had a long meeting. We thanked everyone for coming and reiterated that it was all about working in partnership to continue the growth we have achieved the last three years.

“It was a little bit uncomfortable around the meeting table temperature-wise. There was no coffee and no cookies.

“Instead, it was about ten degrees below freezing but a really inspirational place to have an AGM because it reminded partners that what we are doing is taking people to places like that in order to raise money for good causes.”

Asked how it compared with more traditional business meeting, Mr Quille said: “It was definitely colder but probably the most unique location to have a meeting and something we would like to do again because it does really remind everyone what they are there for and why Really Wild exists.

“And it’s a much more memorable location than a meeting in a boardroom with tea and biscuits.”

He added: “Once you get up to 6000 metres you do get short of breath but, even if the altitude wouldn’t take your breath away, the scenery up there will.”

Undeterred by this year’s epic AGM, Really Wild Challenges is already considering travelling to Everest Base Camp for its next year-end conference.