Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58915
Students soon discover that entrepreneurship is not always romantic or easy, especially in countries with infrastructures still in their formative stages. MIT's Global E-Lab: Delving into Developing Markets by Richard Locke The Global Entrepreneurship Lab at MIT's Sloan School of Management, which launched in 1999, is an interdisciplinary program that enables management, engineering, and science students to work closely with top managers of international high-tech startups. Most of the 160 students enrolled in the program are Sloan MBA candidates, but some also come from MIT's Media Lab and engineering program. Through Global E-Lab, we not only provide compa- nies in developing economies with the kind of business expertise they otherwise could not afford, but also expose students to the issues affecting startups around the world. Participants learn how to navigate countries without U.S.- driven corporate governance, government oversight, or legal systems. They soon discover that entrepreneurship is not always romantic or easy, especially in countries with infrastructures still in their formative stages. The E-Lab Process Before the academic year begins, I look for companies in emerging markets that have achieved local success and are poised for global expan- sion—they just need help taking that next significant step. Selected companies fill out in-depth questionnaires, in which they outline their history, the demands of their projects, and the expectations they have for our students. We post these questionnaires on our internal Web site, and students decide which projects interest them most. In 2005-2006, for example, students selected startups in South Africa, Guana, Rwan- da, Nepal, Turkey, India, and Vietnam. In September, students begin their Global E-Lab coursework and form four- 36 person teams. In October, teams bid on the projects, and we match each team to a client based on the team's skill set. We advise students that, to win a project, at least one team member should have a firm grasp of the company's technology and another should understand the country's culture and infrastructure. Even then, we inform all teams that, although they will be assigned a project, it may not be one on which they originally bid. Once a team is matched with a project, students begin the research phase, communicating with their clients by phone and e-mail to establish expectations and keep clients informed of their progress. In January, when MIT classes are not in session, students travel to meet their clients for three to four weeks, gathering more information and hold- ing face-to-face meetings with managers to make sure the project is still on track. At the end of the visit, each team gives a formal presentation of its findings and recommen- dations to the organization's top management, along with a written report. Our Consultants in Action At first, potential clients of Global E-Lab may wonder whether business students can really provide sound advice to international companies. Once they actually work with us, however, they find that our students not only offer sound advice—they make a difference in the success of their businesses. Sloan MBA and Global E-Lab participant Liesbet Peeters (third from right, back row) meets with small business owners in central Africa on behalf of the World Bank. COURTESY OF THE MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT. BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2006