travels and reflection time

The Emzingo program finished off two weeks ago in Johannesburg. We did formal presentations to our clients and handed in our deliverables. Today is the deadline for our virtual case studies, another part of the Emzingo program. For the virtual case study, we were assigned another client from the Johannesburg area, a client in a different “category” than our principle partner. For example, someone working with a more corporate client for his/her principle project would get a virtual case study partner that is a community-based NGO. The objective was to expose us to as many local actors and experiences as possible. This client and case were “virtual” because the work was intended to be done virtually, via email, with each of the four virtual case study group members working several hours a week to complete the deliverable. I and three other Emzingo-ers worked for the Student ScholarshipProgramme (SSP). Two previous groups of IE Emzingo fellows had already worked for SSP as their principle client. This non-profit organization that provides high school scholarships to high-achieving, lower-income students asked us to improve its communication strategy with its current scholars. We evaluated a mobile communications strategy. Although our time was limited, and thus the depth of our research therefore also restricted, it was an extremely interesting topic because of the current proliferation of mobile phones and social media in emerging markets. 

For my partner and I’s first client, Cheesekids (see previous post “skipping term 3 with Emzingo! as volunteers to have the complete “client experience” of this organization’s biggest annual event. We had a lot of fun, and were again inspired by what momentum Cheesekids has built up.

[cheesekids mandela day video]

For our second client the HUB (see previous post “doing lots of exploring in South Africa, we presented an improvement plan and a marketing strategy for its corporate services offerings. I had a lot of fun working on the marketing materials and communications plan. It was challenging mentally yet enjoyable because I was able to mix creativity with the models I’ve learned at IE in the past 8 months.

Since leaving Joburg, I’ve been traveling with my ex-boyfriend… now fiancée! We toured a diamond mind outside of Pretoria. It was very interesting to see up close, and 800 meters underground, how the backbone of South Africa’s international economy started and continues today. While it would have been a fun story if he had proposed there, he did something even better (I’ll get to that in a minute). We continued on from there to Swaziland, where we had four very relaxing and enjoyable days and got cheap visas for Mozambique. Then we went back to South Africa to visit Kruger Park. The attraction there is the “Big 5”: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo. We saw everything but a leopard. Here is definitely the cutest picture of the experience:

After Kruger, we took a bus to Maputo, Mozambique. We only stayed one full day, but had a great tour of the city. It was fun improvising Portuguese from the Spanish and Italian I speak. We then had an authentic Mozambique experience… riding in a group taxi, for 10 hours, from Maputo to Tofo Beach. We were in a van that was crammed with 4 times too many people, plus all our suitcases. To get out at the one and only stop I had to wrestle my legs out from between the bags they were squished between and then climb out the window.

Since arriving in the paradise that is Tofo, however, everything’s been pretty good. I reunited with 9 of the other Emzingo fellows. We had dinner all together the first night here, and after Luis and I returned back to our hostel, we asked me to come sit outside with him for a few minutes. We were talking and looking at the stars when he asked me what was that box on the table… and then he proposed! Since then I’ve been on cloud nine.

From here, we’ll be moving on to Vilanculo, another 300 km more or less up the Mozambique coast, and then we’ll get back to work in Europe.

I’ve been using all the positive energy I’m getting from the sun and the beautiful, crystal clear Indian Ocean water to get a good amount of work done. I’m trying to keep this MBA experience productive! Everyone who does an internship during their IE program has to write a report that includes a strategic analysis section and a section reflecting on personal development. I’m also trying to get my professional personal “marketing materials” ready to send out to companies once I have stable internet after my travels. After the Emzingo program, and this free travel time, I definitely feel like I’ve had an added experience and additional needed time to plan out what I’m good at and what I want to do professionally. More updates on that when I’m back in the northern hemisphere!

doing lots of exploring in South Africa

The title of this post is literal and figurative. Literally, myself and the other 15 Emzingo fellows have had a great time travelling the two weekends. 

Two weekends ago we went to the Drakensburg mountain range and stayed at an AMAZING hostel called Amphitheatre Backpackers Lodge outsid of the town of Bergville. We spent Friday night dancing and falling around their wall climbing cave. Saturday we went hiking in the beautiful Royal Natal National Park.

[picture coming soon]

Sunday a group of us took a day trip to Lesotho. More amazing hospitality and mountain scenary there, but unfortunately also poor infrastructure and kids selling rats as meals.

[picture coming soon]

This past weekend we flew also as a group to Cape Town. Our first stop was Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 26 years. I have to say the experience was not as emotional or impactful as I expected. Reading books by or about him has touched me more. The beautiful things we saw included Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, and the seaside at Camps Bay. The trip reminded me how much I love the ocean... and good nightlife! I took a winter dip in the strong waves lapping at the Cape of Good Hope, and went out dancing every night with the fun Emzingoers.

[pictures coming soon]

This weekend, I'm staying in Joburg and hopefully checking out some spots, like art galleries, nightlife, and local nature reserves, I've been too busy to pop by during the work week.

Figuratively, the Emzingo program has continued to bring us on a self-exploring journey of personal development. Tonight we had another session at Wits Business School, this time on personal branding. While we already touched on some of the same subject matter during the Emzingo orientation in Madrid, and even before that, during some of the IE MBA career seminars, being in a focused program with relatively more free time than the normal MBA class week plus Emzingo's focus on getting to know yourself, really lets us fellows have the time to consider and work on the personal development exercises we're given. Before, I'd always appreciate the content taught, but never have time, or maybe even the right mind frame to go back and really work on it. I am slowly developing, pinning down if you will, the adjectives I want to describe myself, my brand, and the core values that I have that need to be present in my future career.

Lastly, my Emzingo consulting partner and I have also been exploring a new assignment! We have scaled back our Cheesekids work to one day a week and are now working the rest of our days with the HUB Johannesburg. Taken from their website:

"We aim to be a modern habitat for social and innovative entrepreneurs, providing opportunities to inspire, support, incubate, learn and collaborate. We serve as an interface between communities and economies, government, business and the non-profit sectors. Our community-based approach and sustainable practices are reflected in our membership, team and the space that we create." 

In addition to working with a really cool, urban, and international organization we are experiencing what it's like to be true consultants, re-scoping projects and managing multiple clients and deliverables. I'm enjoying putting my new MBA skills to practice in the marketing exercise we've been asked to perfirm.

skipping term 3 with Emzingo!

So getting Blogger on my iPhone didn't help me blog more... but I have to say I had quite a worthy distraction, a distraction much more interesting than term 2 classes. I was preparing for my summer internship in South Africa!

I was accepted for a summer fellowship with the Emzingo Group, a company started in 2009 by IE grads to promote sustainable leadership development. The program started with a 7 day orientation program in Madrid during which all 16 of the fellows got to know seach other and start our journey of personal development this fellowship is intended to foster. The orientation seminars introduced interesting self-awareness topics like Theory U and mindfulness, but also gave us a good introduction to the history, economy, and culture of South Africa. The week was extremely well organized and made me genuinely reflect in new ways on my passions, on my own self-awareness, on my existing leadership skills, and on what skills I want and need to develop.

Now it's been a full week since we arrived in Johannesburg, we've seen some of the local sites like the Apartheid Museum, the Ellis Park Stadium from the movie Invictus... and we've started working! All of the fellows have been grouped into teams of 2 and assigned according to our preferences to a local NGO or social enterprise.

I'll be consulting for a volunteer event planning organization called CheeseKids for Humanity. CheeseKids used to be a derogatory term for rich kids in South Africa because they are the ones who could afford to pack cheese in their school lunches. The organization has embraced the term and aims to foster volunteerism and social awareness among South Africa's next generation of political and economic leaders. My partner and I are going to perform a bird's-eye-view strategic analysis on the organization's largest annual event, Nelson Mandela Day.  Our consulting deliverables will include an environmental and social impact analysis and strategic plan, an analysis on and suggestions for the marketing of this event, and a start on a Mandela Day handbook for future CheeseKid employees as the organization continues to grow across South Africa. I am really excited about working with this organization because I think the founder, Shaka Sisulu, seems to have great vision, drive, and experience. I'm also looking forward to hopefully understand how he's created a "cool" social movement so that one day when I figure out exactly what I want to "fight for," I too can be effective at mobilizing people.

Our work week is complemented by evening seminars with staff from the local business school at Wits University and from professionals working on corporate social responsibility in firms like Deloitte and SABMiller.

There's so many things I want to share from this experience, but for now, I'll limit myself to saying that I think I am going to learn a lot about myself and what I want to do with my life, about South Africa, about the 15 other fellows, and about strategic consulting. Everyone on this trip, including the two Emzingo organizers, is extremely talented and so far we are sharing a lot - both in terms of knowledge and fun!