In 2004, when I returned to India, a progressive government was in its infancy. It had taken shape much to the succor of millions of people that were otherwise forlorn in an age of loathsome bigotry and skewed developmental agenda of the previous administration. India today is still grappling with its tryst with destiny, and confront questions on how it should redeem itself in an age of neo-liberal capitalism, highly interconnected and globalised world and at a time when crisis on all fronts is lurking behind images of an otherwise ‘shining’ India. If I tear through the clutter that is seen in the current pageant on Indian elections, ‘inclusive development’ seems to be the need of the day. The time has come for decisive, informed, responsible choices to be made to spearhead the billion people towards a progressive future. A future, that does not smack of arrogance of the elite or the fundamentalism of the religious zealots. The challenge is huge but the hope is promising.

These are times of uncertainty and turbulence. The world is changing at a rapid pace. I am today in a better place to be able to comprehend and opinionate on much of what is happening around in the world, than I was a few years ago. This has come partly out of the natural process of growing up, reading, conversations and substantially through the education in the last few months and the interactions and debates with informed people at Oxford. To that extent I am glad to be in the place I am and the perspectives the experience is offering me. I am also hopeful that the next few months will be defining in various ways.

The trip to San Francisco was also a brick laid to that edifice. I traveled with a cohort of MBAs to visit various organizations and enterprises working in the social entrepreneurship sector. The business trek is organized by students of the SE OBN (Social Entrepreneurship – Oxford Business Network) with active support from the Skoll center at Saïd Business School. More about the business trek in part two of the post.

A note to prospective and incoming students: The business treks are undertaken to various destinations of students’ interest around the world during the Spring break. The Careers center and the school do provide logistical support and guidance. The treks are sponsored by the students themselves. Various colleges offer travel grants to their students and that can partially cover the expenses. This past Spring I chose to go both to San Francisco and the Geneva treks.

The business trek was an opportunity to visit organizations and people in the space of International Development and engage in meaningful dialogue with them. This attempt stems from the interest to learn about the functioning of these organizations, the impact of their work and also to establish personal contacts with people at these places.

The trek lasted 5 days and covered a breadth of organizations. Here is a brief overview of the organizations we visited.

· Global Humanitarian Forum: GHF was established by Kofi Annan in 2007. Its initial focus is to highlight the ‘human impact of climate change’, rather than the purely environmental aspects, and empowering societies to end that human suffering.

· Dalberg Consultancy: Dalberg is a management consultancy with offices around the world, focusing on strategic advice in International development and Globalisation.

Global Humanitarian Forum - with CEO Walter Fust

· World Health Organisation: Here we met with people in departments focusing on procurement and technical implementation of health programmes to combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB.

· World Economic Forum: WEF is the foremost global community of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society who are committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum is an independent, not-for-profit organization that brings these leaders together to work on projects that improve people’s lives. We met with an SBS alumnus here, who is a Scenario Planner, looking at alternative futures for financial systems, amongst other things. During the course of our visit, we were plesantly surprised to encounter Klaus Schwab, the Chairman of WEF. He had a few good words of advice for us. He stressed on the need for us to spend time each day to read about what is happening around us in the world. An ability to synthesise all this information and form an opinion is essential in today’s world, he said.

At the World Economic Forum

· Global Fund: GF now separate from WHO, finances key programmes on HIV/ AIDS, Malaria and TB, through partnership working, donor support and UN funds.

· The International AIDS Society: IAS is the world’s leading independent association of HIV/AIDS professionals. It provides critical platforms for presenting new research, sharing best practice, education and networking, in tackling HIV/AIDS.

In these interactions, we not only learnt about the operations of these organizations, but also the key economic, environmental and health issues facing the world today. We became more aware of the role played by them in engaging with governments and shaping global policies. While the students displayed keen interest on how they could engage themselves in any of these organizations, the hosts themselves were pleased to offer guidance on career prospects.

The cluster of International organisations in Geneva is both strength and a weakness. While it allows for debate and free flow of ideas, there seemed to be a tendency for the rest of the world to bracket them out as elite and out of touch with grassroots’ realities. The truth is somewhere in between.

At the UN General Assembly

Geneva - by the night

We also found time to soak ourselves in the beauty of the city and just enjoy the sun.

]]> http://mba.sbsblogs.co.uk/student-treks/oxford-mbas-geneva-trek/feed/ 7 http://mba.sbsblogs.co.uk/student-blogs/cape-town/ http://mba.sbsblogs.co.uk/student-blogs/cape-town/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:20:54 +0000 Rebecca http://mba.sbsblogs.co.uk/?p=766 The next morning, we flew a couple hours south to the beautiful coastal city of Cape Town. The image of Table Rock framed in the airplane window as we descended is one I’ll never forget.

We were greeted on arrival by our friend Julia Jansch, who lives in Cape Town and graciously served as our tour guide during the visit. Our first stop was Penguin Films, the studio where Julia’s mother, Roberta Durrant, is Executive Producer and Creative Director. We got a really interesting tour of the office, including a preview of a moving documentary about injustices in South African society. We then took a peek at the set where Clint Eastwood is shooting his next movie with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Titled Invictus, it tells the story of Nelson Mandela’s struggle to reunite the country after apartheid, as symbolized by South Africa’s Rugby World Cup victory as the host nation in 1995. We will definitely look for it in theaters this winter!

Our next stop (very welcome, after spending months in the cold gray of Oxford), was the beach. It was a beautiful day, and the outline of Table Mountain and the surrounding formations were crisp against a bright blue sky. In some ways, Cape Town reminded me of southern California, with the mountains edging right up to the beach, the palm trees lining the streets, and the sunny weather. (And both places, incidentally, are great surfing locales.)

That night, we were treated to the premiere party of the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation’s new television drama, “Montana,” which Roberta had produced. The show—and the party itself—were really interesting representations of post-apartheid South Africa, with a great deal of racial diversity and discussions that acknowledged the continuing struggle for racial harmony while focusing centrally on a variety of other modern issues. It was a great way to cap off an amazing first day in Cape Town.
The next morning, we paid a visit to Cape Town’s most iconic site: Table Mountain. At 260 million years old, it is older than the Andes, Rockies, Himalayas and Alps, and houses a wide variety of unique flora and fauna. Two of our group, Katie Hill and John Curle, bravely climbed all the way to the top, but I was happy to be lazy and take the panoramic rotating cable car. The view at the peak (well, the large, flat area at the top) was extraordinary, where one could see the city sprawled out below, the curving green coastline, and the ocean stretching out to a white haze on the horizon. The plateau area is surprisingly large, and a walk all around it takes well over an hour.

After Table Mountain, Julia took us to South Africa’s renowned wine country, and the site of her former university: Stellenbosch. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch surrounded by craggy mountains and rolling valleys of grape fields. Afterwards, we visited a local vintner and sampled several wines that he had produced himself. He also gave us a tour of the facility and showed us how the whole winemaking process worked. I bought a few of my favorite bottles at the end of the tour, and haven’t tasted a wine as good since!

We woke up early the next day for what was likely the most moving experience of the trip for many of us. Right off the coast of Cape Town lies Robben Island, an outpost just over five square kilometers best known as the place where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years imprisoned by the apartheid government. The contrast between its striking natural beauty and the ugliness of its history is disconcerting. Squat gray prison buildings and an imposing guard tower stand starkly against lush foliage and the glittering ocean beyond. There are even little penguins that waddle around the bushes and the beach.

But the bus tour—and later, an incredible first-person account by a former inmate—painted a much different picture. We first toured the island in a vehicle with a guide up front, who explained the history of the island (it had once been used as a leper colony and insane asylum, in addition to a prison), and pointed out significant sites like the limestone quarry where Nelson Mandela and his colleagues spent time working in appalling conditions, but also sharing knowledge, forming ideas, and planning for the future of a post-apartheid South Africa.

In the actual prison itself, all of the tour guides are former prisoners (the prison was shut down in 1996, and the site became an official museum in 1997). Our tour guide, a relatively young man who had been imprisoned for act of sabotage against the apartheid regime, described the bleak living conditions in great detail. I asked him later how he had kept up his spirits in such an environment, and he said, “The belief in the nobility of our cause.”

I later bought Nelson Mandela’s biography, “Long Walk to Freedom”, in the island’s book store, and he expressed very similar sentiments about his inspiration throughout what seems like an unimaginable ordeal.

After a thoughtful half-hour ferry ride back to the island, it was time for me to catch my flight back to England. (Some of our group stayed longer, and some left for different destinations afterwards.) But as I departed Cape Town, again watching its unique mountain formations through the airplane window, I left with new and exciting images of Africa—its people, its institutions, its landscapes, and more—that I knew I would retain for a long time to come.

Every year, for the past few years, student interest groups at Saïd have planned treks to many areas of the world. Some trips have been motivated by geographical and regional considerations while others have been centered on specific industries/sectors which are ‘traditionally’ centered on a particular city/area, i.e. Silicon Valley.

The 2009 United Arab Emirates Student Trip will remain one of my best experiences during the Oxford MBA. As an organizer, the trip planning consumed quite a large part of my Hilary term and given that the trip took place soon after the end of exams- I was consumed with the planning during exam prep time. I must admit though, it was a pleasant distraction at times

Our collective goal was to develop a strong understanding of business developments in the UAE, to present students with professional and personal resources to explore the Middle East region, and to act as “ambassadors” for the business school. We were also quite curious to check out the region as most in the group had not visited before.

After weeks of planning, scheduling and juggling assignments and exams, our first day of meetings started with a visit to Nakheel Properties where we learned about the current and forthcoming projects. We were treated to a boat tour around the edge of the ‘palm’ and a view of the Dubai skyline from an unusual angle.

Boat tour around Dubai

We left Nakheel and headed to the financial center of Dubai to meet with Barclay’s Wealth where our group learned about the intricacies of wealth management in the Middle East. After the two hour meeting we were off to Dubai World /Dubai Investment Authority for an introduction to one of the Emirates’ largest and diversified investment groups. We learned about the different levers affecting the different groups and how truly diversified the firm is. Our fourth and final meeting of the day was a dinner reception generously hosted by PA Consulting. The event was at the Fazaris Restaurant in The Address Hotel which is situated next to the Dubai Mall. We learned of the interesting ‘projects of the future’ PA is working on and had the opportunity to mingle with the consultants based in Dubai. Our outdoor seating afforded us a view of the Burj Dubai, the tallest tower under construction.

Burj Dubai

Day two and we were off to Abu Dhabi to our first visit of the day, the Abu Dhabi Education Council. We learned of the thirty year strategic plan of the Emirate and the tremendous role that education plays in this plan. We then visited HSBC and discussed the differences in retail and commercial banking within Abu Dhabi and among the Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries. Our day ended with a visit to the impressive gold-laden Emirates Palace.

Day three began in the Jumeirah Marina, where we visited an entrepreneur and alumni of Saïd Business School to learn about the leisure boating company fully powered by solar panels, Gulf Solar Yachts.

Gulf Solar Yachts

After the early morning meeting we were geared up for our private tour of the Burj Al Arab. Our wonderful host took us on a comprehensive tour of the luxury resort. Perhaps next time we visit Dubai one of us will stay there!? In the afternoon we met with the Forsa- a women-run division of Dubai World focusing extensively on female wealth within the region. In the evening of the packed day we all attended the alumni event and networking reception for our meeting hosts. The event was generously hosted by the Center of Excellence in the Dubai International Financial Center. It was a great way to meet additional alumni and companies we hoped to but could not meet with during our short time in Dubai.

On the fourth and final business day the team met with four firms. The first meeting was hosted by Boston Consulting Group. Our next meeting was hosted by an alumnus of the program at Shell. We learned about and discussed with our hosts the future of oil in Dubai and the Middle East and additional sources of fuels and energy. We made our next stop at the Internet City of Dubai, where we visited with Dell. Our final meeting was with Bain and Company.

Our final group activity was a Desert Safari which included 4×4 ‘dune crashing’ a buffet dinner at a Bedouin tent, where camel rides, hookah, and belly dancing and a return trip to our hotel.

Deser Safari in Dubai

Waterfalls of gurara

No April Fools’ day for us! We were up and off to a Niger State tourist development site – the waterfalls of Gurara, sourced from the River Niger further upstream. There was a plan to build all of the following on this site:

• a golf course,
• a hotel or three,
• a hydro power station,
• a kids’ camp,
• a park,
• a zoo,
• an amusement area,
• a tourist walk,
• various refreshment stations… you get the picture. ..
• and presumably a whole lot more.

Proposal for the development of gurara falls

We all looked somewhat amazed as we baked in the heat and looked at the area under consideration. The only relief was the falling water to a pool below. But this is where the hydro station would be located, eating into the relief of the rocks behind the waterdrop. $2bn dollars of investment is sought. I imagined the track of a golf ball as it veered off the fairway, hurtled through the entertainment tents, past the mouth of a beast in the zoo, jamming the hydro generation station below. The target customers for this new development would be foreigners or wealthy Nigerians. Some in the group were worried that foreigners would never even make it to the site, given the quality of the roads. Hmm. Food for thought, we thought.

Lunch – serendipity and mango
I haven’t mentioned yet that everywhere we go, we run into friends of Yemi’s or Tolu’s or David’s. And lunchtime at the hotel provided another such example. Sharp eyed Tolu spotted, over her mango smoothie, the face of the current Chairman of Etisalat, Nigeria’s 4th GSM provider, an Oxford Alumni and an invitee to the Africa Conference held in Oxford on May 1st.

David and Yemi boldly approached. Yes, he would be delighted to come to the conference. He would have loved to have hosted us, but we were returning to Lagos then. Hakeem Belo-Osagie offers scholarships to four African undergrads at Balliol each year to applicants that have applied to a University Clarendon Fund Award. He wants to keep in contact with the Africa OBN. Our chance rendez-vous was serendipitous, to say the least.
Evening at Yemi’s friends’
Yemi, you now realize, is Miss Fixit. Whatever needs doing in Lagos, she can fix it. She fixed a wonderful accommodation for us all to stay in while we were trekking in Lagos. This avoided the need for a hotel and gave us plenty of common space to watch rap and chat. Yemi’s kind friends hosted the lot of us for supper providing us with another example of fantastic extensive Nigerian hospitality!
We are now up to about 9 of us. Our host had recently completed the Sloan Fellowship programme at LBS . His neighbour was another friend of Yemi’s (they had studied together in Washington DC).

This gorgeous California morning found the trekkers once again in San Francisco. Frequent SVCO guest Jerry Sanders hosted us at his San Francisco Science office in the Presidio, and to open the day he arranged a private tour of the grounds. After getting our fill of historic military buildings and Yoda fountains we sat in his conference room to discuss his company and our goals.

Yoda fountains

San Francisco Science seeks out unique technologies and brings them to market. The current portfolio ranges from medical devices to social-finance, and even includes Saïd Business School alum Cameron Turner’s ClickStream Technologies. The goal with each of these companies is a profitable early exit. In Jerry’s words, San Francisco Science specializes in base hits, not home runs. We then asked Jerry to share some insights with us. Never one to mince words, Jerry’s advice was simple – in this economy, take whatever job you can get right away. The risk otherwise is that you’ll be seen as damaged goods, making the job search even more difficult. The most important thing is that first job, and then from there to build the knowledge and networks for your future.

Insight from Jerry Sanders: Jerry’s recommendation is consistent with his company’s philosophy. Now, more than ever, we should be looking for that base-hit career step rather than waiting around for the home run.

For our closing act, we stopped by Linden Labs to see Second Life creator Philip Rosedale. Philip explained how the Second Life virtual world works and even showed us how the company uses Second Life to host all of its staff meetings. He then talked about the challenges he faced as an entrepreneur trying to pitch the idea. Philip explained that genuinely new ideas are rare, and they don’t fit the venture capital risk model. “If you have an idea like that, your best bet for funding is to find someone as visionary (read: crazy) as yourself who has more money.”

First things first: we are only here able to write this blog because of the incredible commitment that Yemi and Molly have made to arranging this Africa Trek. What a way to see Nigeria – our host laid on trips and experiences that are beyond the reach of any of us as tourists. And then again in South Africa, we owe a huge thanks to Julia Jansch, our classmate from Cape Town, who, with her family and friends, welcomed us trekkers with fantastic kindness and hospitality. More will be said throughout the blog, but anyone reading this needs to know how much we all appreciated quite what they have done to give us this opportunity. And we’ve been and done so much; we’ve visited many people and places; we’ve been overwhelmed by kindness and warmth and we have impressions galore – we will try to sift and submit the best of them to you here.
We all began the day in a different mental zone altogether – rushing to finish formal end of Trinity Term assignments followed by an all out race against the clock to deliver them to exam rooms before 12 midday. After the panic-induced shopping at Boots we finally gathered in Heathrow, relieved, but feeling somewhat mentally unprepared for what lay ahead.
Tuesday, 31st March: Visit to Nigeria’s Parliament

When we saw Yemi as soon as we touched down in Lagos, it changed all our senses.
We flew straight on from Lagos to the capital, Abuja, where we were personally welcomed in the Federal House of Representatives by Honourable Dimeji Bankole, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and an Oxford Alum.

We witnessed a debate on oil pricing and subsidies in the House. The layout of the House, and the system of voting (voicing ‘Ayes’ and ‘Nays’) were a small reminder of the roots of the democratic processes adopted here in Nigeria. A difference was the glamorous appearance of the MPs, clad in long starched white Nigerian dress, for the most part.

We then joined a session of the Committee on Power in the National Assembly. This was chaired by our host, the Honourable Ndudi Elemelu, Chair of the Governmental Committee on Power and Member of the Committee on Diaspora of Nigeria. He is currently also studying a leadership course here at the Saïd Business School. The Committee on Power was discussing the establishment of an energy fund grown from profits generated by the oil industry (a sort of Norwegian style sovereign wealth fund)

Molly and Yemi outside Nigeria's National Assembly

Democracy appeared to rule OK: NGOs and other interested parties were allowed to speak, at length, on the structure and remit of the fund. The committee considered and commented, but it appeared no decision on the details of the fund was yet to be taken.

On Tuesday afternoon we had the chance to meet with World Bank’s Country Director Mr Onno Ruhl. We would like to send a big thanks to Mr. Ruhl and the World Bank team for their time, information and perspective on the big issues around Nigeria’s growing economy.

Some key points emerged throughout the meeting: health care provision and reach seems to be a complete muddle exacerbated by pirated medicines, different regional needs and weak education on causes of key illnesses. The number of people living in extreme poverty (under $1.25 per day) is falling. Wealth is unevenly distributed, with a growing gap between the two ends of the income scale. The middle class provides the engine for economic growth as purchasing power has increased most quickly in this category. Agriculture, not oil, is the dominant growth in the economy, surprisingly. Then there’s the growth of Nollywood, Nigeria’s own answer to Hollywood. Nigeria also provides large tranches of the African TV material shown across the continent. Protection of IPRs is a big issue requiring a ‘nuanced approach from the World Bank’. This prevents some forms of FDI reaching Nigeria. Pirating of DVDs is rife. Sit in the traffic for long enough (easily done, we assure you!) and you will undoubtedly be offered a full range of convincing discs (at least, to the untrained eye).

Detailed information can be accessed on the World Bank website for Nigeria Debates about the access to information at the sectoral level seemed to suggest that data does exist but it’s a question of knowing where to look. There’s an entrepreneurial opportunity in bringing this together.

During Tuesday evening we dined at the home of Honourable Elumulu. We were welcomed by our host, and his wife, dressed in beautiful Nigerian traditional dress. His two young children also watched and listened with guarded attention. We were offered such generous hospitality by our host Honourable Elumelu, accompanied by some of his staff at his well guarded mansion in Abuja.

Honourable Elumelu (centre) with the trekkers

He talked at in length about the challenges he faces on the Power committee, on making corporations accountable, and of taking his ‘findings’ through the House of Assembly. Our meetings during the day, at the House of Assembly and the World Bank, helped us to put the evening’s discussions into context. The bond of Oxford and Hon Elumulu’s formidable travelling schedule around the world means that we are likely to have the chance to catch up again. But to provide comparable hospitality could be more of a challenge. We look forward to it.

I was part of the Cisco team, and I was thoroughly impressed with the depth of analysis they apply to each potential partner. They consider the technology, obviously, but even more so the people. If the cultural fit isn’t there, they don’t make the move; ” They’re the best at acquisitions for a reason”

For the afternoon, the trekkers were treated to an impressive array of events at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. Our hosts, Dean Barry Posner and Professor Al Bruno, arranged a panel of local entrepreneurs, a discussion about their social incubator, a lecture on the current economic crisis and outlook, and even let us sit in on one of their classes. They topped this all off with a reception where we got to meet professors and current students.

If you’re going to be in Silicon Valley, make sure you get to know Al Bruno and Dean Posner. Not only do they know today’s leaders, but they’re ensuring that they’ll know tomorrow’s as well.

Thursday, April 9th
Silicon Valley is an area proud of its history (and justifiably so), and this day started out with the trekkers gaining a little historical perspective. Joe DiNucci arranged a morning tour of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. There we saw everything from punched card processors to supercomputers, including one machine with a built-in ashtray. They certainly don’t make them like that anymore.

After two hours of computing history, we were jolted with a vision of the future. Qik founder Ramu Sunkara showed us how his software can turn a cell phone camera into a real-time webcam. The technology is still under development, but the current results are impressive.

In classic Silicon Valley style, Ramu started Qik in his garage. His advice was simple – team up with the smartest person you know, and don’t let failure get you down. Even when all hope seems lost, success can be just around the corner.

For our afternoon session, the trekkers were treated to three hours with LinkedIn founder and CEO (and Oxford alumnus) Reid Hoffman. Reid spent a few minutes talking about his background and about LinkedIn, and then he shifted to giving us direction on finding jobs and funding ventures in this economy. To give justice to the quality and quantity of information Reid (aka “The Godfather”) shared with us this afternoon would take 1000+ words, so I’ll just summarize as best I can. With money tight and jobs scarce, social networks are even more critical to finding funds and employment. Build those networks… and then use them!

Insight from Reid Hoffman:

Get LinkedIn or be left out.

Insight from YouNoodle;

Here’s my own algorithm for predicting start-up success – count the number of Oxonians on staff. YouNoodle sports three, including CEO and co-founder Bob Goodson. I’m thinking they’ll do just fine.

Our next stop was Y Combinator, which provides seed funding and mentorship to early-stage companies. Partner Paul Graham spoke to us about what he considers the keys to a successful entrepreneurial venture. It seems everything hinges on the team. Teams of two or three work best, and determination trumps intelligence every time. He also encouraged us to consider taste as a key element in web/product design. If you don’t have it, find someone who does.

What perspectives did we gain from Y Combinator? Does an MBA prepare you for entrepreneurship? Not according to Paul. The trekkers could find that troubling, but in reality it should just serve as a reminder that in entrepreneurship, like anything else, there’s no substitute for hard work.

Our evening was spent with Joe DiNucci’s friends at Coulomb Technologies. While partaking in start-up cuisine (read: pizza and beer), the trekkers listened to CEO Richard Lowenthal describe the Coulomb vision. Coulomb approached electric car charging as a network problem and leveraged their experience to come up with a compelling solution.

Insight from Coulomb;

 Culture is key. Most of these guys have already done so well that money is not an issue, and yet they are all working hard to make Coulomb a success. Why? Because they love the environment (pun intended).

Our first official stop was at Twitter. Befitting the hype surrounding the Valley’s hottest start-up, we showed up with a camera crew from NBC-affiliate KNTV and a reporter from the San Jose Mercury News (thanks to Mike Malone!). Wanna see how much the camera loves me? Check out this;

Insight from Twitter:

Think of your investors as employees you can’t fire. Make sure their expectations align with the goals of your company.

After Twitter, we paid a visit to Saïd Business School alum Dave Rosenheim, CEO of JamBase. He introduced us to Andy Gadiel, who founded the company ten years ago. It started as a project to help track the bands he wanted to see, but once he began organizing all the information he realized there could be a business in it. Thus, JamBase was born and profitable from day one.

Insight from JamBase:

If you love something enough to spend your spare time doing it, why not turn it into a company?

Our final event of the day was an Saïd Business School Alumni/VIP gathering at Raymond Nasr’s Palo Alto home. We enjoyed fine wine (specially chosen by Raymond) and canapés while networking with some of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest. Our SBS predecessors have established a vibrant local alumni chapter, and several trekkers are hoping to join them later this year.