This March, the Darden Center for Global Initiatives offered three Global Business Experiences to students interested in learning about a particular business theme in another country. The programs included “From the Amazon to Rio: Leading Complex Projects on the Global Stage” in Manaus and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “Exploring how China Influences the Conduct of Business Within China and Internationally” in Shanghai, China, and “Lessons from South Africa on the Need for Cooperation Between the Public and Private Sectors to Grow an Economy” in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa.
South Africa’s history and outlook provided a particularly interesting backdrop for discussions regarding how business and government function in global society. Students met several times over the course of the spring to prepare for their time on the ground in South Africa. Darden faculty member and Academic Director for the Institute for Business in Society Mary Margaret Frank, led Darden students to Johannesburg and Cape Town from 4-14 March 2015 to learn about Africa’s largest economy and to explore issues including diversity, entrepreneurial empowerment, telecommunication and mobile banking, foreign direct investment and sustainability. The program’s final assignment asked students to consider how the private sector can partner more effectively with the public sector to promote growth and stability in South Africa.
One of students on the program, Andrea Barrios (MBA ’16), shared her photographs, allowing us an inside glimpse into the 2015 South Africa Global Business Experience: 
