Thursday 20 March 2014

Can Business School #MBA students impact poverty in #Malawi @imperialbiz



I am often asked if MBA students who have never been to Africa can use their skills to improve small businesses over seas. The simple answer is yes! Meet Adrian Walker, an MBA candidate at Imperial Business School in London, originally from Switzerland with a Finance back ground at PWC. He is volunteering by Skpye and mobile with a client in Malawi, and is now onto his second project. Here Adrian talks about his experience. thank you for taking the time to invest in others!

The consulting work for GROW movement was a truly invaluable experience. It allowed me to better understand the challenges a business faces in Africa taking into account the prevailing political and the economic situation. Things we take for granted in Europe are hardly available there, such as adequate insurance, lap tops or internet coverage. These circumstances forced me to adapt my coaching style as the first question I had to ask myself was: What are the resources we can work with?  The key take away for me was to make sure that I kept an open mind at all times in order to overcome any obstacles in the consulting process by actively listening to my client and by understand their personal situation and their resources as thoroughly as possible. 

In the end I was immensely happy and satisfied having been able to contribute to the success of an African entrepreneur by passing on my business skills and by sharing my professional experience.

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