I can hear my high school track coach right now: “envision yourself successfully achieving your goal.” That’s all I could think about as we sat together last night, wrapping up our plans for what we plan to achieve this week during our CEL Practicum trip to Africa.
Members of the TWB team at last planning meeting before departure to Rwanda.
And yes, while our goal for The Women’s Bakery (TWB) is to engage with the incredible women of Rwanda, apply what we have learned at Olin thus far, and create lasting impact for The Women’s Bakery, I can’t help but wonder how this international experience will impact each of us individually.
Our innovative perspectives could be exactly what TWB needs to be best positioned for its future. But when I put into perspective how this international experience will have such lasting impact on my life, it’s hard to convince myself to sleep! We are ready and could not be hungrier for the challenge.
The Women’s Bakery is one of 14 CEL practicums going on this semester. With a team of four 1st year MBA students, we are helping our client and fellow-MBA student, Markey, take her blended for-profit and non-profit business, The Women’s Bakery, to the next level in terms of growth. By meeting with her and her team in Rwanda, we will gain the insights that we need to help propel them forward. We will continue this practicum throughout the semester but we know this travel abroad will be invaluable for us!
The team met one last time to talk game-plan for our time on the ground. It will be so helpful to see the women and the bakeries in person!
The Women’s Bakery, founded in 2014 by Olin MBA’17 student Markey Culver, is a blended for-profit/non-profit organization which equips women in Rwanda and Tanzania with the business, technical, and life skills necessary for economic and social opportunity. Through education provided by the Women’s Bakery, teams of women are able to build self-owned bakeries providing a nutritious addition to meals and supporting a community’s self-driven economic growth. Watch Markey’s Elevator Pitch above.
