Our founder Nigel Seaman said it was an ‘honour’ to be recognised by the Prime Minister at the announcement of a new veterans’ employment service.
Nigel was invited to the OP PROSPER launch event at RAF Museum London on Friday, April 12, by Ren Kapur MBE, founder of veterans organisation X-Forces.
The service, announced by Rishi Sunak and Veterans Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer, is aimed at encouraging more businesses to hire veterans.
Nigel was recognised in the crowd by Mr Sunak following his announcement, while his wife, Akshata Murty, said she would love to visit our roastery and training academy in Ipswich.
Nigel said: “It was an honour to be invited to this event – and even more so to be recognised by the Prime Minister, who I had previously met at a business breakfast event in Ipswich.
“Ms Murty was a pleasure to speak to and we had a great chat about coffee. I asked her if we could send her some of our coffee and she said no – because she wants to come to Ipswich to taste it at our roastery!
“It was a real privilege and we would love to welcome her to Suffolk.”
Ren and her team at X-Forces were among the first to support Nigel in the creation of Combat2Coffee – and Nigel said his own story serves a great example of how support can help veterans flourish.
He added: “It was brilliant to see Ren once again. The help X-Forces gave me was hugely beneficial in setting up Combat2Coffee. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them.
“Hiring a veteran can be the most rewarding thing your business ever does. Just like with the Armed Forces Covenant, we will champion OP PROSPER and its message.”
More information on our impact can be found here.
