Partner Sites


Logo BusinessBecause - The business school voice
mobile search icon

MBA Jobs: ESSEC Learns From Emerging Market Trip To South Africa

ESSEC's Global MBA students have just flown back from South Africa. They learned how entrepreneurs thrive in the toughest of conditions - and can apply lessons to their own careers.

Wed Apr 30 2014

BusinessBecause
Clambering to the railings of a bridge spanning across a section of Table Mountain, a gaggle of French MBA students posed for a photograph. They had just trekked to the summit of the flat-topped mountain, at the heart of South Africa, which overlooks the city of Cape Town.

Just hours before their climb, the ESSEC Business School students had touched down in the emerging country. They had just jetted back from Singapore, a trip that is part of the Global MBA program, where they spent five weeks absorbing the Asian business culture.

They came back to Cergy, the school’s base, for just a week before being told they were off to Africa. Would they please pack their bags?

“It was a bit intense; a back to back schedule with a longer flight,” says Mayumi Aoyama-Hubis, a Global MBA student. When they arrived, they had but half a day’s free time. “Even though we were tired we decide to go to the top of the mountain,” says Mayumi, a Japanese student who worked as a freelance translator and consultant before beginning the program.

From the following day, Mayumi and her cohort had two lectures every morning. They learnt about the South African political landscape and how businesses operate in the emerging economy.

The afternoons were filled with company visits. The ESSEC students had talks from global brands including Engen Oil and Addidas. They also visited a bevy of small start-ups – a couple in some of South Africa's poorest townships.

Their arrival in Cape Town is part of a wider effort to internationalize the school's MBAs. By sending students packing across the world, ESSEC is able to offer them a global perspective that some other schools cannot.

Dozens of hopefuls sign-up to their Global MBA program with international ambitions. It was what drew Richard Huynh. “We didn’t know we’d be in South Africa, but we knew that there was one or two months we’d spend in Singapore. That’s why I chose this MBA,” says Richard, who joined the school after working for PSA Peugeot Citroën in Shanghai for three years.

Yet it is highly selective. The program offers much more than a typical MBA; experiential learning puts business talent into a real-world context. In 12 months, MBAs are fast-tracked into business careers.

For the students, that means plenty of time adapting to airplane food. They are whisked away for a six-week term at ESSEC’s Singapore campus, before a week-long trip to an emerging market (this year, it was South Africa). Then there is the international emersion project, a team consulting project centred on a 4 or 5 week stint in another emerging market.

Global MBA students also get the chance to take an exchange program with the Mannheim Business School in Germany, among others.

These trips shine the spotlight on markets outside of the Western world – which have become increasingly popular destinations for MBAs in recent years. Common thinking is that you need to study at a school based in Asia. But this way, MBAs get the best of both worlds.

The popularity of the course is understandable. A global focus has never been more important for today's MBAs.

South Africa is just the latest destination to get the ESSEC treatment. In 2012, students spent time in Russia. The consulting project has seen worked carried out on Uruguay, Egypt, the Philippines and India.

“I chose the Global MBA for the diverse class,” says Mayumi, who joined ESSEC in September last year. Before that, she spent three years in the US, where her husband is based. That follows a lengthy career in hotel management in Tokyo. But after a few years of marriage in the States, the work dried up.

“I couldn’t find a hotel job and I was looking for something I could do,” she says. A stint as a freelance consultant in the US proved unfulfilling. So, Mayumi began looking at business schools. She settled on ESSEC – but it is “crazy” in Japanese culture to leave your husband for a long period of time.

“Everybody asks me: what are you doing? But I like the challenge,” she laughs.

Richard came from similarly far afield, but feels the trip has widened his perspective. “It’s more about opening my mind. I believe MBA students need to have an overview of all the world's economies,” says Richard, who is French but worked in the automotive sector across China for several years. “In Europe, you do not have the same problems as you do in Asia.”


You will not find any Starbucks or Costa coffee houses in the township of Khayelitsha. It was a hot day but ESSEC's Global MBAs gathered outside of a coffee shack. Some still wore their French-made suits.

Lounging outside of the red-painted café, the flock of business students queued for Department of Coffee beverages. The shop was too small for them all to fit inside.

It was a low income area. Some students described it as a slum. Yet it is one of the many South African townships that dot the landscape, and is where, surprisingly, entrepreneurs are drumming up business.

It is surely an immense challenge. Yet the owner of the Department of Coffee, in his mid-20’s, was undeterred.

“He explained what he did and how still he’s still struggling. But he has a strong passion and he never gave up,” says Mayumi. “It’s amazing that a small business is here. In the middle of the slum, they are running a great business.”

It was a world away from the big corporations and tourist attractions they visited. Yet it was one of the biggest takeaways Mayumi took back to France. “As someone from the service industry, his pride and passion was unbelievable for me,” she says.

The MBAs do not rule out a return to emerging markets after graduation. Richard is banking on a career in supply chain management, probably in France for a few years “but afterwards I will go abroad – maybe to Asia”.

Mayumi plans a return to hotel management. The benefit of all these trips to emerging economies, she says, is understanding how business people make companies work in the toughest of conditions. It must make a French start-up look easy.

“We know that poverty exists, but it’s different when we step in those worlds,” she says.

Before leaving, they visited a pre-school in the township of Grabouw. They were offered the chance to sponsor a student from a poor community. “The teachers asked us to pick someone, but it was hard,” says Mayumi.

“So many kids are out on the streets. We left some money to help. But I couldn’t sponsor everybody.” 

Student Reviews

ESSEC Business School

Student

Verified

5/12/2023

On Campus

The best intercultural university

There are more than 50 nationality in the grade, so there are opportunities to interact with people from all around the world. In terms of academics, the BBA course offers diverse courses for the 1st

Student

Verified

6/04/2022

On Campus

Creativity, adaptability and entrepreneurship

The Master in Management program at the ESSEC Business School allows the students to choose their courses accordingly to their preferences and their professional targets. We can also go through international exchange and take part in internships with companies that are also partners with the school. The school is also next to the city of Paris.

Prithwiraj

Verified

17/11/2021

On Campus

Top business school in France

Doing PhD in essec took some time, to be precise about five years. But the experience was very good and cost effective too. There are opportunities for the student for teaching assistantship and that helps both financially and in career. In the final year I could manage to teach marketing to M1 students and this helped shape my career

Student

Verified

30/10/2021

On Campus

Great college

The program is well suited for early professionals with an engineering degree preferably or a degree in economics. I would suggest taking the ceasure irrespective of the experience level as it helps you take your time to adjust to the job market.

Student

Verified

30/10/2021

Blended

Good school in France

I am currently enrolled in M2 in Essec business school. I am specialising in marketing management. The Grande Ecole programme is valued in France and my school ranks very high up. There are a lot of opportunities for internships and CDD.

Student

Verified

9/02/2020

The program curriculum

BBA program. The program is really practical and useful, provide us many international opportunities. Like internship and humanitarian experience, and the flexibility is also really cool, we can choose different campus and tracks as we want.

Véronique

Verified

11/12/2019

International Course

This school is very international and business oriented. Highly recognized by the companies The campus has been renovated and is very functional and modern from now on. Excellent atmosphere. Reputation of essec is a plus

kevin

Verified

11/11/2019

Friends, Career opportunities.

The program I did gave me the opportunity to start in Singapore. I got the chance to know all the students that started there and we bonded and made some friends for life. The career opportunities that ESSEC also gave me were unbelievable.

Student

Verified

25/09/2019

Practical and useful

I think the best thing about Essec is that it's not focusing on academics rather it emphasizes on future job mindset and professional experiences.. The classes are interesting and we have plenty of workshops attributing to different sectors.. The campus is very nice with a good cafe and wonderful library. The only problem is the location of the campus. It's quite far from Paris.

Kartik

Verified

14/02/2024

On Campus

Amazing experience! Must try

I think its a very amazing school with great and experienced faculty. Also the alumni network is very solid and useful. The school has a great balance of studies and work experience which is really essential for a student.

Ali

Verified

28/05/2024

On Campus

GBBA: Diverse, Enriching, and Career-Boosting

My experience at ESSEC Business School has been outstanding. The Global BBA program offers a rich academic curriculum and diverse learning opportunities. I appreciated the chance to study on different campuses, including an international exchange, which broadened my perspective. The social environment is culturally diverse and vibrant, enhancing both my personal and professional growth. The administration is attentive, constantly offering new academic and student life opportunities. The campus facilities and classrooms are excellent. I highly recommend ESSEC for its excellence, global exposure, and career opportunities.

Maximilien

Verified

5/06/2024

On Campus

ESSEC BS BBA REVIEW

The English track BBA program at ESSEC is simply exceptional. Courses are taught by internationally renowned professors who are experts in their field. The subjects taught cover a wide range of disciplines from marketing to finance, strategy and entrepreneurship. The English track is a major asset because it allows you to develop perfect mastery of professional English, essential in today's globalized business world. Some students love student life at Essec, which is one of the best in France, but it all depends on taste.

Clément

Verified

14/06/2024

On Campus

Great program, incredible school

I love almost everything about this school, from the student life to the academic program and the opportunities it provides. I'm currently at the Paris campus, in Cergy, and I'm really enjoying it. The BBA program is very rich and diversified, you can start with geopolitics and then finance, what I mean is that there's a great balance between the subjects in this program. I was also lucky enough to spend a semester at the Singapore campus, and I loved that experience on the other side of the world. ESSEC is also known for its dynamic and rich student life, with access to several parties a week and the various associations within the school. If I could recommend just one school, it would be this one - I'm 100% satisfied.

RECAPTHA :

c1

b4

d6

38