Seven undergraduates including Ross Beyeler ‘09, Mary Blackford ‘11, Chris Long ‘10, Jacqueline Mozzicato ‘10, Nick Pineda ‘11, Alice Thompson ‘10, Rayshawn Whitford ’12, and one Fast-Track MBA student, Ellie Hagopian M ’11, arrived in South Africa on June 17 for a three week experience that combines community service with travel and cultural exposure. 

Babson students are teamed with students from the University of Stellenbosch to teach entrepreneurship to local youth at eight area high schools.  These schools are located in disadvantaged communities in both townships and rural areas, and the learners are empowered to begin their own small business as part of nation-wide measures to address economic inequities marking post-apartheid South Africa.  Learners have started small businesses such as hair care, glass cutting, craft-making, clothing design, grocery selling, computer technology, cooking, jewelry making, and child-care centers. 

Babson students deliver a curriculum designed by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).  The learners participate in a business plan competition at the end of the course that is judged by members of the Stellenbosch Chamber of Commerce. The top three businesses are awarded money to begin their businesses.  Babson students study South African history, culture, politics, and literature, visiting historic and cultural sites in Capetown and Johannesburg and ending their trip with a safari in Kruger National Park.