Apopo
A team of four MBA students worked with a Tanzania-based social enterprise called APOPO. APOPO has developed a unique detection technology for humanitarian issues in Africa. The company trains sniffer rats to save human lives primarily through landmine detection and more recently through the detection of tuberculosis.
“We travelled to Tanzania to work with the organization on business planning and the evaluation of new commercial applications for its unique proposition. In collaboration with our sponsor, we developed a scope of work to include market research and industry analysis on both the demining application that had been the organization's primary operational technology as well as conduct primary and secondary market assessments for future activities, including the promising tuberculosis application. Our scope of work included market research, feasibility analysis, business model design and financial projections.
The SCP was undoubtedly the most rewarding aspect of the Saïd Business School program for me - both academically and personally. Everything from creating a team with complementary skill sets to developing an appropriate scope of work in conjunction with the client to our final all-day presentation offered an opportunity to put into practice those concepts that had remained merely theoretical until this summer.
In the classroom, it can be challenging to really see how theory may play out in the real world. The SCP offered an opportunity for our team to not only test out theory but also to engage as professional consultants. In fact, Lindsay will be returning this fall to continue consulting for the organization and all of us will continue to support APOPO in one way or another in the years to come. Perhaps most importantly, I had the chance to get to know three wildly talented and inspiring classmates better than I would have ever had the chance during the year. I was humbled and moved by working with each of them. The experience most certainly resulted in friendships for life; and it was invaluable.”