CNBC Africa Profiles CGE Digital Internship Program to Help African Businesses

April 29, 2016

The Center for Global Enterprise (CGE) has just completed a six week collaboration with Rasello, a Tanzania-based enterprise software company. Ira Sager, vice present of global learning initiatives for CGE, discussed the initiative with CNBC Africa, Friday April 29.

Rasello, based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, asked a CGE Alpha Team to develop a roadmap for growth across Africa, and for positioning the company’s longer-term expansion into global markets. The team was comprised of 21 participants, which included 12 students, 6 business professionals, and 3 faculty members from 15 countries. The team was made up of eleven men and ten women.

 

Over the course of the six-week program, the Alpha Team analyzed the competitive landscape, identified geographic and vertical market opportunities, and designed an organizational structure to support the company’s business goals. At the conclusion of the program, the Alpha Team produced a comprehensive report with over 40 recommendations for the 5-year-old company.

 

Alpha Teams are an offering of CGE’s Global Scholars programming. The project was organized into three sub-teams, each working with an experienced mentor. Three Alpha Team members were selected to travel to Dar es Salaam to present the team’s recommendations to senior Rasello management on April 22.

 

“Rasello’s biggest challenge is scaling globally,” said Natalino Mwenda, CEO and founder of Rasello. “The CGE’s Alpha Team made key recommendations to help Rasello grow in different markets. It was an eye-opening experience that will accelerate Rasello into the future.”

 

The Alpha Team program is a unique learning concept—a 6-8 week digital internship where a global team comprised of students, academic faculty, and business professionals collaborate to solve a real-world problem for a company sponsor.

 

“This is not a situation where the team is given their assignment and simply reconvenes six weeks later with their research,” said Ira Sager, VP of CGE’s global learning initiatives. “The internship is 100 percent collaborative. There are weekly check-ins with the full team and sub-teams, and mentoring from leading business practitioners.”

 

With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, CGE is able to provide access to leading-edge business learning tools that accelerate Africa’s participation in the global economy. This particular initiative is focused on the emerging platform economy and its disruptive business models.

 

CGE will conduct additional Alpha Teams and offer two online “micro-courses” to help address management and employment skills needed for emerging platform business models.

 

CGE’s Global Scholars program is a free, global, and open learning community that currently encompasses 84 universities from 61 different countries.

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