BIB grads heading to Africa as Aga Khan Foundation Fellows

Two recent graduates of Sprott’s Bachelor of International Business (BIB) program are heading to Africa in August to spend eight months working in the areas of microenterprise and microfinance. Sarah McRae, BIB/15, and Nathan Randall, BIB/15, were selected from hundreds of applicants as recipients of the International Youth Fellowship from Aga Khan Foundation of Canada (AKFC).

“I’m interested in bridging the gap between business and development,” says Sarah. “There shouldn’t be a separation and it shouldn’t be up to policy makers alone. I see the power of international business in helping developing countries.”

AKFC accepts only 20-25 Fellows each year. The Fellowship features an eight-month overseas placement with a host organization. Fellows also receive a month-long training session at Carleton University, delivered by international development professionals from Canada and abroad.

Sarah will be working in a microfinance role in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Nathan will be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city, through CARE’s Access Africa program, which serves to empower East Africans through business and microfinance.

This isn’t the first time overseas for either Nathan or Sarah. Both completed a full year exchange to France as part of the BIB program. Earlier this year, they travelled to the Longido District in Tanzania to conduct field research for an interdisciplinary course project to develop sustainable water technologies for villages in Tanzania.

Nathan first heard of the Fellowship from Professor Moses Kiggundu during a class for BUSI 4717: Managing Globalization in Emerging Economies.  The opportunity peaked Nathan’s interest and he decided to use the trip to Tanzania as research to help him decide whether to apply for the Fellowship.

“I went and loved everything about it,” says Nathan. During the trip, he learned as much as he could about the Masaai culture and spent a lot of time trying to learn Swahili. He also gained exposure to microfinance and microenterprise through the project’s partner organization, Project Tembo.

Project Tembo provides loans, business training and resources to the Masaai women in Tanzania. For Nathan, seeing firsthand how this support was helping the women in the Longido District better manage their bead jewelry businesses, gain some financial independence and improve their standard of living was impressive.

“Microfinance has had mixed results globally, but it was definitely helping them,” says Nathan. “That inspired me to pursue the Aga Khan Fellowship.”

Nathan was pleased to learn the Fellowship would take him back to Tanzania. “I’m thrilled. Now I can learn Swahili and get more exposure to Tanzania.”

For Sarah, she first became intrigued by a career in international development while visiting Romania during her year abroad in France.

“Seeing a country in the midst of a major transition, and seeing the things that were blocking them from going further and the people with their entrepreneurial spirit, it was just ‘wow’ – this is what I should be doing,” says Sarah. “I should help address the need for business in developing countries such as this.”

Sarah became convinced that she should pursue a career in international development during her trip to Tanzania, where she witnessed microfinance in action and met the women entrepreneurs who were benefitting from the loans.

Sarah learned about the Fellowship through Nathan, who advised her to look into it during a conversation about what they wanted to do in their careers.

“Immediately, I went to see Dotti MacNeil in the Business Career Management Centre,” says Sarah. “Dotti gave me lots of tips, helped me with my application and put me in contact with a BIB alumni, and former Aga Khan Fellow, Kendra Thorogood.”

Although Sarah will be based out of Madagascar’s capital, she hopes to spend a lot of time working with microcredit beneficiaries in rural communities.

As they prepare to move to Africa on August 1, both Nathan and Sarah are excited to see how this Fellowship will shape their career goals.

“The BIB program has taught me to expect the unexpected and how to adapt,” says Sarah. “I know that I’ll be able to thrive in my home in Madagascar and that’s because of the education I received here. I feel ready for whatever happens. It’s going to be an amazing experience.”