MBA Graduates Choose Social Enterprise in Emerging Markets Over Traditional Corporate Jobs

Tourism development in Sri Lanka, social enterprise expansion in India, local supplier improvement in Mozambique—just three of the unique assignments that the most recent cohort of MBAs Without Borders (MWB) Advisors set out to begin this August.  As MWB Advisors, the seven graduates will spend from five months up to one year working on a project for a social enterprise, NGO, or government agency.  This experience provides the Advisors with an extraordinary opportunity to gain practical experience working in emerging and frontier markets while developing critical leadership skills that strengthen their ability to manage global teams.

On July 29, the Advisors gathered at CDS headquarters in Washington, D.C. to kick off their assignments, which will take them to countries that include India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Mozambique and Tanzania. And while the seven MWB Advisors’ areas of expertise range from environmental science, to mechanical engineering, to scuba diving, they all have one thing in common—the business acumen to provide pro bono services to promote growth, entrepreneurship and economic development around the world.

Here’s a sneak-peak into each Advisor’s assignment, and why they feel passionate about being an MBA Without Borders.

Jessica Custer

MBA, HEC Paris

Jessica will spend the next five months as a Marketing and Sales Specialist at Kara Weaves, a fair-trade certified organization that sells hand-woven clothes and linens designed by local weavers of Kerala, India. Jessica will work to expand Kara Weaves’ market share locally and internationally, while identifying new distribution channels and increasing sales.

“I believe that there is a great opportunity to create shared value simply by leveraging business in innovative ways…. ‘Business as usual’ hasn’t been good enough for a long time—it’s time to do business with people in mind.”

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