It’s certainly been the case for Zimbabwe-born Alforde Charumbira. He was inspired to pursue a purposeful career that could positively impact disadvantaged communities. To do so, he left his role as a chief financial officer and embarked on an entrepreneurial journey—and has not looked back since.
“I really wanted to focus on finding solutions to the problems that afflicted some of the communities I could relate to, having grown up in them,” says Alforde.
To achieve this goal, he founded Utando Social Impact Solutions with his former MBA classmate, and now wife. Their mission is to promote responsible capitalism. Utando works with companies—in both South Africa and the US—on finding solutions to urgent problems such as climate change and carbon emissions, and ensuring that positively impacting communities is a fundamental starting point for businesses.
However, it wasn’t a straight road for Alforde to get his business to where it is now. It took dedication to growing his skill set and learning about the complexities of doing business in South Africa and emerging markets.
Growing a business alongside studying an MBA degree
As an entrepreneur, taking time away from your business to study full-time isn’t an option. Yet, if you want to stay ahead of the competition and develop your skills as a leader, business school can give you an advantage.
That’s why Alforde embarked on the Modular MBA at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB). When enrolling on the MBA, Alforde was leading his first venture and learning about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.
The GSB Modular MBA is a two-year, part-time program. The program has a flexible hybrid format whereby students attend classes in Cape Town twice per year but can otherwise choose to study online.
Alforde was attracted to the UCT GSB Modular MBA due to its focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. The program offers business leaders a unique yet globally relevant perspective of doing business in African, emerging, and developing markets.
“I saw the program as a good bridge between Africa and the world, which appealed to me as an entrepreneur. I also saw an opportunity to meet like-minded business people and entrepreneurs, and learn from them too,” says Alforde.
Alforde connected with other entrepreneurs via the UCT GSB Solution Space—an incubator for early-stage startups across South Africa.
“Studying the MBA as an entrepreneur meant I could immediately apply the learnings from the MBA in my business by testing new ideas and understanding what works and doesn’t. I could speak to peers and faculty about problems I was facing and how best to tackle them,” he says.
Alforde is using his learnings to ensure Utando Social Impact Solutions and its clients are responsive to the distinct challenges of different global markets. In one project, Utando engaged with communities in Guatemala, South America. It worked with the government and a pharmaceutical group to build a stronger health infrastructure.
“Seeing the impact this project has had within the community, especially for women who had never had access to maternal and reproductive care, definitely left a lasting impression on me,” says Alforde.
Developing entrepreneurial leadership skills
In today’s business world, entrepreneurs need to constantly adapt and upskill to keep up with new trends and global challenges.
Entrepreneurs on the UCT GSB Modular MBA can choose specializations such as Innovation and Entrepreneurship or Leadership and Change, in order to upskill in the key areas they need to advance to ensure business growth.
“As an entrepreneur, you’re faced with complex problems every day and there is no defined solution to these problems. So the MBA for me was about developing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills to confidently approach these challenges,” says Alforde.
However, becoming a strong leader is about far more than the skills you gain. The UCT GSB Modular MBA also focuses on personal development by familiarizing students with leadership theory and encouraging them to reflect on the type of leader they want to be.
“The leadership course was one of my biggest takeaways from the MBA. It provoked us to ask questions about our own leadership style and how our experiences influence how we show up as a leader,” says Alforde.
Coming from a corporate career background, studying an MBA in South Africa helped Alforde to learn how to adapt his leadership style to a career in social impact. Now, he works closely with global companies to lead them towards tackling some of the world’s most urgent crises and transforming communities.
“The MBA has enabled me to lead in a way that I did not know before,” he says.
Making an impact as an entrepreneur via an MBA in South Africa
Driven by his own experiences and upbringing, Alforde’s entrepreneurial journey has always had a clear mission of social impact—both for the planet and for people.
“Business does not exist without community, which is why entrepreneurs need to focus on creating social impact,” he believes.
Studying the MBA at UCT GSB meant Alforde could gain an understanding of more complex markets in a business context and transform his ambition into a business model that could make real change.
Utando Social Impact Solutions has innovated a tool that allows businesses to bring together different aspects of operations, marketing, and finance to predict both the environmental and financial outcome if they do not bring Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations into their mainstream strategy.
The business has also had a profound impact on disadvantaged communities. One of the biggest and most rewarding projects Alforde has worked on with Utando involved employing people from zero-income households at entry-level positions within companies to allow them to upskill and provide for their families.
“Almost immediately we saw a difference in families and communities due to having role models. Plus, families could afford healthcare and education, so that there was a reduction in crime and so on,” says Alforde.
Already armed with passion and a vision for change, the MBA was the catalyst for Alforde to turn his entrepreneurial dreams into reality and make a lasting difference in communities around the globe.
Student Reviews
University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT)
