MBA International Study Trip
Business in emerging markets
The International Study trip is designed to give our students additional exposure to international business, particularly in emerging markets. The course comprises a one-week trip in which students follow lectures at a top Business School abroad and visit local companies and cultural events.
In previous years the International Study Trip went to the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (India) and the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in Beijing (China). In January 2015 we will go to the University of Cape Town in South Africa. South Africa is a key emerging market and considered by many as the gateway to Africa. Additionally, the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business is among the world’s best Business Schools.
Business in emerging markets: South Africa (current)
Africa has been called the last frontier for business and investors, and a consumer market of note. The continent has billions of barrels of proven oil reserves, 60 percent of the world’s unused arable land, over a billion people and a workforce that will be larger than China’s by 2040.
Multinational corporations such as Walmart, Barclays and Johnson & Johnson have used South Africa as a launchpad to do business in Africa. The country has a sophisticated financial infrastructure and advanced governance systems and is home to world class companies like SABMiller and De Beers. At the same time, however, it is a highly unequal society characterised by deep-rooted poverty and high levels of unemployment. Having these two worlds –developed and developing- so close to each other provides the opportunity to compare and contrast.
The programme in Cape Town offers insight into the nature of business in South Africa. Questions to be explored include: How does operating in a society in transition affect corporate strategies and business models? How do companies use innovation to develop business solutions to social and economic issues? What are inclusive business models and what is their relevance in an emerging market context? Which business lessons are coming out of Africa beyond South Africa?
You will discuss these and other questions with University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business professors, industry experts, executives, entrepreneurs and consumers in class, at companies and in emerging market communities.
Partnering Business School
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business
Business in emerging markets - past trips
China
Partnering Business School
Guanghua School of Management at Beijing University
India
Partnering Business School
Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad