SBS Hosts IESE Business School Executive MBA Students for the Doing Business in Africa Programme

Last week, we hosted over 50 Executive MBA Students from the IESE Business School in Spain for the Doing Business in Africa Programme. The visiting MBA students were pulled from four IESE Business School Campuses: Barcelona, Madrid, Sao Paulo, and Munich, bringing a truly global perspective to the discussions.

This week-long programme, a key component of IESE’s overseas module, is designed to provide executives with first-hand insights into the dynamics of doing business in Africa. It blends academic rigor with experiential learning. Delivered in partnership between SBS and IESE, the programme combined classroom sessions, panel discussions, company visits, and cultural immersions to offer participants a holistic understanding of Africa’s business landscape.

The sessions commenced on Monday, 25 August 2025, with Dr. Caesar Mwangi, Executive Dean of SBS, framing Africa’s story not through the lens of challenges but through its extraordinary potential. He emphasized the continent’s youthful demographic, abundant natural resources, and the transformative role of innovation, value addition, and resilient leadership in shaping its future.

The subsequent sessions led by Professors Africa Ariño and Dr. James Njuguna deepened these insights through case-based learning and discussions around indigenous business models, strategies for market entry, and the realities of operating in emerging and frontier markets.

Beyond the classroom, the programme emphasized experiential engagement. The Retail Safari allowed participants to explore Nairobi’s retail ecosystem, benchmarking strategies across modern supermarkets and street markets. The company visits to Octavia Carbon, , Isuzu East Africa, and Fairview Coffee Estate offered practical exposure to local industries and operational models.

A key highlight of the Programme was the visit to Oasis High School in Kangemi, where they had an opportunity to interact with the students and one of the school’s partners, Strathmore University, through the Macheo Program. The Macheo Program organizes after-school and holiday programs that provide high school students academic tutoring, personal mentoring, and character development. Macheo has four core aims: to reduce secondary school dropout cases, to improve the academic performance of the secondary students in the program, to ensure the transition of the students to the next class in high school, and to achieve secondary school graduation into university/college/vocational school or talent school and character education.

In addition to the class sessions and the experiential learning, the students had the opportunity to interact with the MBA for Executives students from SBS during the negotiation exercise and the executive challenge, which aimed to foster an exchange of expertise between the students from both Schools in various industries. During these sessions, MBA students from both Schools got the opportunity to exchange ideas and strategies drawn from their diverse professional experiences. These sessions fostered peer learning, critical thinking, and cultural intelligence—key competencies for global leadership.

The programme also featured panel sessions and keynote addresses by industry leaders such as Linus Gitahi, who discussed leading and succeeding in Africa’s dynamic business environment, and Nancy Matimu, who delivered the closing keynote, tying together the week’s insights with forward-looking perspectives on Africa’s emerging opportunities.

About the MBA for Executives Programme

Our MBA for Executives Programme is best suited for individuals with at least 2 years of managerial experience looking to broaden their knowledge and expertise. This Programme helps them develop their talent and harness the competencies necessary for the next level by unlocking their inner potential to discover new horizons. We offer two modes of learning for the MBA for Executives Programme: Evening and Modular. Learn about the MBA for Executives Programme here.