Covid Resilience in Africa– IE University launches Africa Challenge

IE University’s Business Challenge on COVID resilience in Africa kicked off with over 350 IE undergraduate business students providing consulting services for five companies across the African continent.

 The challenge was designed for IE University’s undergraduate students in collaboration with the IE Africa Center and Professor Lucia Egea as faculty lead.  

IE University students had the opportunity to work closely with selected startups, SMEs and nonprofit organizations addressing different verticals across the continent such as youth unemployment, tourism and finance. The companies included SwitchPay in South Africa, Tripxio in Uganda, Fulani Kitchen in Ghana, WAVE Academies and Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (WTEC) in Nigeria. This mix of both startups and scale ups in Africa’s emerging markets provided the students a rich learning platform for innovative solutions to the companies’ most pressing challenges. 

“We are so delighted to co-create this inaugural challenge with our Bachelors in Business program, giving our students the opportunity to work alongside some of the leading knowledge experts and entrepreneurs on the continent. At the Africa Center we believe that the intellectual and physical contributions of Africa and its people are not only central to the modern world as it exists today, but are crucial to contemplate a better future for the continent, and we’re committed to bringing the African perspective to global conversations on humanities, education and social innovation.” said Felicia Appenteng, Chair of the IE Africa Center.   

“The IE University Challenge presents an opportunity for our third-year students to apply their learning and skills to the African continent by working with exciting high growth organisations in different markets,” said Marc Smelik Vice-Dean of IE Business School. “We are collaborating with the IE Africa Center to raise awareness of Africa’s tremendous abilities and potential, and to foster the global mindset of our diverse student community. I am so excited about this new element in our bachelor program, it has never been more important for us to look beyond the obvious and discover innovation and opportunity. Africa’s growth and future will influence all of us for decades to come, global education must embrace it.”