Study tour – Page 4 – Global & Experiential Education

CAP Hong Kong: An Introduction to Consulting

marielbaloMay 2, 2019March 4, 2020

Blog post by Joshua Lodestro, GMBA '20

For a team of four MBA students with no consulting experience the last four months have been nothing short of challenging and rewarding.

In January, sixteen classmates and I learned that we would be going to Hong Kong for our Consulting Abroad Program (CAP). Our three teams would be working with two different clients, Click Ventures and Regal Hotels. Click Ventures is a venture capital fund. One group would be working on a way to analyze investments in blockchain companies, and the other team would be working on a pitch deck for an upcoming fund. The Regal Hotels team, my team, would be working through a marketing and competitive analysis of the hotel industry in Hong Kong.

Again, my team had no consulting experience. We brought together a diverse range of backgrounds: human rights, public service, finance, and customer service. For us, everything was new. We quickly learned how to set expectations as a team as well as set expectations with the client. With the challenge of working with a time zone thirteen hours ahead, we found ourselves on 9pm WebEx calls with the client. However, we found WeChat to be the most effective way to catch our client.

We learned a few different methods for active consulting engagements, the first being Team FOCUS, and the second being design thinking. My team would adopt design thinking due to its stress on empathy. As we were working on a marketing project, having empathy with the target customer and their needs would prove crucial to execute our project successfully.

We were fortunate to be working in Hong Kong insofar as cultural barriers are minimal for typical Western business norms. We did not find that there was a language barrier with our client and they were open to our questions and ideas. We were fortunate to have a friendly and funny client!

We wrapped up our semester’s work in two significant events. First was the storyboarding session where we presented our research and findings to a group of second-year students for feedback. Their feedback was helpful and set us on the right track for creating a successful final product. Two weeks before we were to leave for Hong Kong, was the Panel Presentations Day with industry experts from consulting heavyweights like PwC and Booz Allen in attendance. While their feedback was tough, it was the last guidance we would receive before we flew to Hong Kong to meet with our client face-to-face.

With packing done and a long flight ahead of me, I look forward to getting to Hong Kong and meeting our client in person!

Rwanda STAP: Visionary

marielbaloMarch 27, 2019March 4, 2020

Blog post written by Drew Otto, GMBA '20

Vision is essential for long-term planning. You need to know your destination before mapping out the best way to reach it. As a former educator, we called it ‘backwards planning’ and a common message in our consulting classes is to ‘keep the end in mind’. We heard about the country’s prominent vision, Rwanda 2020, at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Development Board, and several organizations in the country. We had a unique perspective observing how Rwanda exemplifies the use of vision to align its stakeholders. And now, talks for Rwanda 2050 are already underway with clear goals.

Image 1: Group photo at the East African Exchange (EAX) in Kigali.

I taught my former students to write visions and SMART goals in my 11th grade history classroom. To see these same concepts used at the government level is inspiring and affirming, a reminder that sound reasoning and effective planning are universal for success in all contexts. There is much to celebrate given Rwanda’s growth rate but once removed from the capital city, the dense population in rural areas proved that the country’s vision has not yet been realized everywhere.

Our GW teams visited five cooperatives, each at varying stages of sustainable development. My cooperative framed images of their assets in their office; the truck, mill and barn each an achievement to long-term growth encouraging its annual growth of 30 farmers. But learning about a history of embezzlement with the former board reminded us of our context and the long-lasting effects of corruption and mismanagement. Our project’s focus to assess the financials to determine whether our cooperative is investment-ready required a wider scope into their past and daily operations. Many board members were still learning their roles since the past board’s dissolvement. Making the payment for the past board’s mistakes each month is a feat in an industry where the changing climate constantly creates hurdles.

Image 2: Inspecting the student-run grafting fields to help support imported crops (cauliflower) grown locally at the University of Kibungo.

The first-hand experience of bringing my business school knowledge to a small cooperative was a reminder that education is a privilege. As I consider my vision for my own future, the experience in Rwanda has prompted me to always consider the real-world application of what we learn in class. I feel challenged to find a position that creates social and environmental change. The inimitable feeling of having a positive impact for those in need, contributing to the country’s own vision of improving the quality of life for its kind and friendly people, is exceptionally rewarding.

As my team finalizes our deliverables, I hope our memorandum and recommendations will convince investors to fund our cooperative. It will take a while for the government’s vision to truly reach each Rwandan but knowing that foreign investment can promote the well-being of small farmers and others in need is all the more reason for us to continue to explore other countries. I look forward to returning to Rwanda, whether professionally or personally, and challenge myself to envision my future in which I utilize my resources to impact positive change.

Rwanda STAP: Rwanda’s Umuganda

marielbaloMarch 15, 2019March 4, 2020

Blog post written by Drew Otto, GMBA '20

The U.S. could use some umuganda these days. Known as ‘community work day’, the last Saturday of every month is dedicated time for all Rwandans to come together and improve the environment. The tasks may vary but public transportation halts and everyone, even President Kagame, is expected to trim the bushes or clean the streets. It has paid off. I was shocked by the cleanliness when we arrived at the Kigali airport.

Young palm trees lined the median of the smooth streets as I taxied to our hotel. The green fronds reminded me of my years living in Los Angeles except that the pristine sidewalks were litter-free. The more we travel across Kigali’s lush hills, visiting the Ministry of Agriculture, Rwanda Development Board, and a world-class processing plant, the more I realize the power of community involvement. It’s not only the streets that have been cleaned up, but the economy as well.

Image 1: Palm Trees above clean walkways in Kigali.

Rwanda’s GDP grew an impressive 7.5% last year and our work with local cooperatives should contribute to that rate. The country may lack natural resources, but with a population of 12 million, its small size is conducive for aligning initiatives. Ninety-five percent of Rwandans have 4G coverage, roughly ten percent more than most U.S. carriers, and the country is positioning itself to be one of Africa’s business and tech hubs, modeling its plans on countries like Singapore and Hong Kong. Halfway through the trip however, we rode several hours over paved and bumpy, dirt roads to the rural hillsides of Kibungo. We visited our cooperative and saw just how much catching up the villages need to do to match the development of its capital city.

Image 2: Drew's GW team, along with Professor Click, visiting the Koremu cooperative outside Kibungo.

The wet season brought short but heavy rains as we arrived at our cooperative for a day of research and financial analysis. Our translator fielded questions as we learned the challenges of growing maize and beans. Climate change, rodent-borne disease and a lack of resources are several of the many challenges faced by the farmers and executive board. Our work, to improve and recommend our coops for investment, is at the mercy of many external factors and the complexities of agribusiness are exacerbated in a country still developing its infrastructure and building capacity. Defining ‘investment ready’ is difficult when financial statements are in kinyarwanda and our translator has constantly been critical in helping us prepare our memorandum.

Yet, even at our small cooperative tucked away in the hills, there was no litter to be found. Children wave as we drive by and the feeling of pride and community remains strong everywhere we go. The spirit of umuganda is both inspiring and effective and I continue to doubt if we have anything comparable back home in the states.

Rwanda STAP: Impact that Matters

marielbaloFebruary 27, 2019March 4, 2020

Blog post written by Drew Otto, GMBA '20

After studying abroad in Berlin, Germany as an undergraduate student, I experienced life in a culture with a dark past. Yet, there was always comfort in knowing that most people with whom I interacted learned about the Holocaust like me - separated by time and the distance created by pages in a history book. But in the case of Rwanda, the 1994 genocide is much more recent. As my group researches and prepares for our work with impact investors and Rwandan agribusiness coops, I grow increasingly interested in Rwanda’s economy and history.

I instantly thought of the 2005 film Hotel Rwanda when I saw the African country listed on the GE&E’s Short-term Abroad Program (STAP) flyer. The horrific beginnings of the Rwandan genocide are portrayed from the perspective of a Hutu manager of the Hôtel des Milles Collines married to a Tutsi woman. I was touched by the film and wrenched that as a young boy in the U.S., I knew very little about such a global and unjust tragedy. I was drawn to the program in Rwanda to learn more about its past and to play a small role in developing the Rwandan economy.

Image 1: Drew in front of Berlin's iconic "TV Tower"

Professor Reid has led many student cohorts to Rwanda and has assuredly contributed to Rwanda’s sustainable development through his work with impact investors. I am fascinated to learn about this process of “patient capital”, in which investors connect with local Rwandan businesses to invest money that prioritizes positive social and environmental impact alongside profitable returns. I want to know what makes these investors tick and how I can best persuade and make a case for foreign investment that promotes societal improvement.

Image 2: Hotel Rwanda, Lionsgate Films, 2005.

Our classroom is filled with an excited curiosity as we learn about the Rwandan economy and people. I am eager to visit Rwandan coops that have collaborated to form international connections and attract foreign investment. Despite its size and poverty levels, Rwanda consistently ranks as one of the top African countries most suited for international business. Our instructors have prepared us for travel around Kigali and the eastern province and we are eagerly awaiting our departure. I look forward to exploring Africa for the first time and experiencing impact investment in a truly hands-on way. My graduation is one year away and this trip will surely influence my career goals and provide valuable business experience.

In order to learn more about the country’s history, a group of us were fortunate enough to book a room in the Hôtel des Milles Collines featured in the film. I wonder how much I will sleep that night, immersed in recent history while filled with excitement. I look forward to knowing that our work with impact investors and local Rwandan businessmen will, in some way or another, impact Rwanda in a way that truly matters.