The Missing Middle

In Ghana our key clients are a handicraft company called CraftPro and one or two pineapple exporters.  Based on their size, both of these firms are considered to be small medium sized enterprises (SMEs).   In Ghana, SMEs provide 85% of manufacturing employment and contribute to 70% of National GDP (Abor, Quartey, 2010).  Typically micro-enterprises [...]

Read Full Post »

A Taste of Ghana, in DC!

Check out the first video in our series of IRP moments caught on film.  Tonight: Our foray into Ghanaian cuisine!

Read Full Post »

Last Class in DC!

And what a class it was! The day came when we submitted THE copy of the market entry report that we would show to our clients. Moreover, this last class entailed an in-class mock power point presentation to the professor and the rest of the class. In true American Idol fashion, we were also presenting [...]

Read Full Post »

A Microscopic Look at One of the World’s Fastest-Growing Economies

It is no secret that Brazil’s economy is rapidly growing.  With an annual GDP growth of more than 5% the past several years (7.5% in 2010), Brazil is one of the fastest-growing major economies, and in recent years, Brazil has become the poster child for emerging market economic reorg.  Well, I think it’s safe to [...]

Read Full Post »

WORK, WORK, WORK, eat, sleep, WORK…

The Sweden-portion of the IRP is scheduled to start on May 8th. Most of us will arrive in Stockholm the same day or a few days earlier. However despite being just over 2 weeks away, the trip still seems like an intangible mirage due to the enormous amount of preparatory work we are currently undertaking [...]

Read Full Post »

Confessions of a Former Vegetarian

I have to admit – I was a vegetarian for 2 years before moving to Washington. Although I’ve changed my standard of vegetarianism somewhat (hey, I’m on a student budget now; I’m not going to argue with a free chicken skewer every now and again!) I’m still somewhat turned off by the thought of eating [...]

Read Full Post »

Serbia: Too Much History

I was talking with my dad the other night and he asked me again where I’m heading next month. “Bosnia? Slovakia? Uzbekistan?!” Wrong all all three accounts, but part of me can’t blame him. The country is Serbia, home to an old nation with a new identity. Like my dad, my own image of Serbia [...]

Read Full Post »

GW MBAs + Clean Tech + Sweden = Greatness

When you think of Sweden, the following images might pop in your head: Beautiful people, blond hair, the colours blue & yellow, Vikings, the Arctic northern lights, the word ‘cold’, ice lakes,  Abba, Ikea, Volvo and Saab. I realize I might have missed plenty of other things but that’s alright because over the course of [...]

Read Full Post »

I am going to gain 1,000 pounds in Turkey.

One of our reading assignments for class is Stephen Kinzer’s book, Crescent & Star. Mr. Kinzer is the former New York Times Istanbul bureau chief, and he ambitiously tries to capture the magic and mystery of Turkey. He writes, on page 29 (of 252 due this Wednesday, just more proof of what a good student I [...]

Read Full Post »