Written by Kristin Schulz, class 2014 part-time MBA student at GWSB; Residential Programs Manager at Clean Currents. Passionate advocate and evangelist for renewable energy and business sustainability.
One of the great things about the part-time MBA program at GW is the flexible course offerings that make it possible to sit classes into an already packed full-time work schedule. Luckily, study abroad courses were not left out of the equation either.
GWSB offers 10-day programs that allow professionals to get the hands-on experience and international exposure of studying abroad. I have just completed my last assignment for the program I participated in this January – International Entrepreneurship and Business Growth Strategies in Developing Countries. I spent a grand total of 14 days in Ghana, West Africa combining some travel of my own with the structured course in Accra, the country’s capital city.
The program helped me gain incredible insight into what it takes to establish and run a business in an emerging market. I am especially glad that I chose to participate earlier on in my MBA schedule. This experience has inspired and motivated me to work hard to gain all the valuable business skills I will need in order to pursue a future career in emerging markets. My area of interest is the private renewable energy sector so I know that nothing would have replaced the learning opportunity of seeing Ghana’s energy infrastructure first hand.
Ghana is one of the most developed and stable countries in Africa where the majority of the population enjoys access to all the modern conveniences one would expect, including electricity. Although Ghana has abundant power sources (their hydroelectric facility generates the majority of the electricity supplied not only in Ghana, but throughout West Africa) the national electricity grid continues to experience inefficiencies. I learned that this has both positive and negative implications for their residential solar industry.
- On the down side: There is no motivation to be energy efficient due to the lack of any meter-reading system. A flat monthly energy charge is determined for each building when it’s first inspected. This amount will not change from month to month despite acquisition of new appliances over time unless the utility is notified. Since there is no enforcement of penalties for not advising the utility, it’s no surprise that no one reports installing more lights, charging new cell phones, purchasing a refrigerator etc. The power outages make sense since the country is demanding more power than the utility even realizes!
- On the up side: Frequent outages have motivated residents to explore off-grid solar options for their homes. Currently there are over a dozen successful Ghanaian solar companies dedicated to residential solar installation. The initial upfront cost, while reasonable by US standards, is still a major barrier because the average rate for a one-year loan in Ghana comes with 48% interest! But that’s a whole other story…
Given the country’s annual sun exposure, large-scale solar was a logical consideration in the initial plans to expand the country’s energy generation. But when oil was discovered off the coast in 2007 a national solar project took the back-seat in lieu of establishing off-shore oil refineries. Solar is still in Ghana’s future and it looks like that may be sooner than later due to a partnership with Blue Energy of the UK to build The Nzema Project (http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/solar-farm-ghana-be-africas-biggest.html) which could generate enough power for 100,000 homes annually!
Ghana is not only ideally situated for solar, but also for offshore wind. It is exciting to see a developing country like Ghana willing to explore their diverse energy resources and open to embracing new clean energy technology. It will be interesting to see what resources are prioritized in the expansion of their energy portfolio.
Aside from the knowledge I gained during this short program, I was also able to take some time to experience the friendly people, vibrant culture, spicy food, and gorgeous geography of the country. Some of my unique adventures included learning the bobobo dance, trying fufu and goat stew, getting around via tro-tro, attempting to balance a water bowl on my head and mastering the handshake snap.
I simply can’t say enough about how much this experience meant to me both professionally and personally. I strongly encourage everyone to participate in a short-term study abroad experience while pursuing a MBA!
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