A Helping Hand to Africa

French business school HEC is bringing management education to the African cotton industry. A school official talks about how it can boost the region's development

Business schools are showing a keen interest in Africa and other emerging markets (see BusinessWeek.com, 2/5/07, "B-Schools Put Africa on the Curriculum"). Over the past three years, more than 25,000 executives, representing 63 nationalities, have participated in various programs of France's HEC School of Management, according to Bertrand Moingeon, associate dean for executive education and professor of strategic management.

But the faculty and administrators were concerned by the lack of representation from Africa. "If we want to have an impact on Africa, we need to go to Africa," he says.

So they did. The school's first foray into the region came two years ago in Senegal, where the school has an office and partners with the country to offer, among other things, scholarships to Senegalese nationals.

Now, HEC aims to have a direct impact on the continent's large cotton industry, which affects about 20 million people, says Moingeon. He is spearheading an HEC initiative to help the Foundation of World Agriculture & Rural Life and the African Cotton Producers Assn. create locally run, industry-specific business programs for African cotton producers in 13 African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Cameroon.

HEC will also run knowledge-sharing forums to spread the word about the local economy and best practices in the region. An executive education program for senior execs is slated for launch in the fall. And Moingeon and his team are looking to partner with an African university to produce programs for midlevel executives. The ultimate goal, he says, is to train managers at all levels of cotton production.

Moingeon recently discussed HEC's plans with BusinessWeek.com reporter Francesca Di Meglio. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:

How will the programs be structured?

We are in the early stages of designing the programs. Clearly, part of the initiative will [help students] develop managerial skills while taking into account the specificity of this sector. We have a team that spent three weeks interviewing people in Africa to get a better understanding of their needs.

We are working on developing the curriculum of executive programs, which should launch in September or October, 2007, for the most senior cotton producer executives. We also have to help identify good practices that would be worth sharing with others in other countries by facilitating knowledge sharing.

What will current HEC students do in Africa?

They will probably be enrolled—especially those concentrating on sustainable business—in what happens at the local level in the different villages. We can see having students who go into villages and organize meetings with the local cotton producers and could contribute to knowledge-sharing forums. We think that some students, just as they did in Bangladesh, will write their research project or dissertation on these experiences in Africa.

What kind of reaction have you gotten in Africa so far?

It's too early to say regarding the cotton industry, because we're in the earliest stages. In Senegal, people were very happy that a business school such as HEC was ready to come to them.

We created an HEC executive club with CEOs of the top 40 companies in Senegal. Professors who go to teach there are very excited because the people are very interesting. They have had different experiences. We learn by working with them. We have a close connection with this country.

Why do you think so many business schools are finally taking notice of Africa and other developing economies?

To be honest, I am not sure I would agree regarding the number of people involved in the field. When we go to Senegal, there are not too many business schools. They come once a year and participate in a big meeting. If we look at what happens on a day-to-day basis, we don't see a real involvement of business schools.