The Smith School of Business hosted the Second Annual Emerging Markets Case Competition earlier this month. According to the Smith School, eight teams from seven MBA programs around the country participated in an intense 24-hour preparation and presentation. Each team was tasked with providing recommendations to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on a specific case involving the economic sustainability strategy of a mining company in Ghana.
After two rounds of presentations and Q&A, the home team representing Smith captured the event’s $2,500 first prize. The team from the Foster School of Business came in second, earning the runner-up prize of $1,500. Team representing the George Washington University School of Business, American University Kogod School of Business, Texas A&M University Mays Business School, Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business, and Temple University Fox School of Business were also present.
Harpreet Ghuman, a member of the Smith squad told the school website:
“I just feel elated, I was very pleased with the work that we had done and the final product we created…But winning just made it all so much better and helped me to be more confident about future case competitions.”
Victoria Ryan, another member of the Smith team added,
“I was excited to participate in a case competition that very much aligns with my career goals of working in emerging markets. It was interesting to analyze this case and communicate the importance of quantifying the impact of a company’s CSR initiatives in developing countries. We had a great team and after racking our brains for how to best approach this situation, we were ecstatic to have won first place!”
The competition was judged by a panel of corporate executives and international development professionals, as well as an IFC consultant for Global Infrastructure and Natural Resources Advisory, Toniqua Hay.