Organization: MBAs without Borders
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Contact: Tal Dehtiar, (Co-founder MBAs without Borders)

April 2006

CFOsources has seen and met the graduates of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Wharton and Thunderbird in Asia. Over the last 3 years or so we have noticed that more ivy league schools are placing their students in emerging economies such as China and India. We also noticed a higher proportion of Asian graduates of North American universities choosing to work in Asia rather than North America.

NorthWestern has been running its MBA program out of Hong Kong for almost 10 years now and during my time in Hong Kong I saw many Canadian graduates who became the VP of HSBC, VP of RockWell and consultants at McKinsey.

The trend that we see emerging is that Asian Business Schools are attracting more North American applicants. In Taiwan some of the MBA schools do not charge tuition to foreign applicants--its free. India has some of the best technical schools in the world-- The Indian Institute of Technology has graduated some of the most influential people in technology today. It's second to none-- this is evident by some of the starting salaries from Indian schools--over 100,000 USD per year. Obviously it depends on the school one goes to and the experience one has.

For years Asians were coming to North America for education and work, but as we know Asia moves fast and it is attracting young North Americans to its universities and companies.

MBA's without Borders is part of this trend --it sends young Canadians on international assignments.

We talked with Tal Dehtiar here is what he had to say:

Can you give us some background on MBA’s without borders and how it started?

MBAs Without Borders started out of the idea of bringing business and international development together….just a bunch of people chatting one day and then Michael and I took the idea and ran with it.

MBAs Without Borders is a not-for-profit organization that strives to contribute to the business and social development of upcoming nations through work rotations of MBA professionals (students and/or alumni). Our MBAs are currently working in Tanzania, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Nigeria & Vietnam and we look to expand across Africa, Asia and Latin America over the coming years.
We find local businesses or not-for-profits/international businesses working towards the better good of developing countries and we recruit MBAs who can best support such businesses over a period of 4,6, 8 or 12 months. We do all this by raising funds via a cost-sharing arrangement with our partners abroad and at home. It costs MBAs Without Borders between $15,000-$25,000 per project and while our partners in Africa for example can support anywhere from 10-100%, we raise any remaining funds by partnering with Individual Donors, Corporate Donors and MBA programs.

How many students have you placed to date and are these Canadian students?

We have placed 5 MBAs on the ground to date and hope to have 10 abroad end of the year/early 2007. All but one has been Canadian.

What are the requirements for admission into the program and salary levels of the MBA placements? Can Asian based companies hire MBA’s even though they are not based in Canada?

In addition to the personal rewards of such an experience, each participating MBA receives the following:
• Monthly Bursary • Return airfare• Room & Board• Security • Health insurance• Required vaccines and medications• Travel Visas• Laptop and/or handheld computer

Yes, Asian based companies can of course work with us to find qualified MBAs that meet their needs.

What is the typical company profile for MBAs without borders?

There is no typical company profile. If the organization/business from or working in a developing countries and working towards the indirect or direct betterment of the local people we will partake. We have been involved thus far in Agribusiness, Micro-Finance, Health Care Management, Marketing, and Operational Management.

What are your thoughts on the quality of our Canadian MBA programs and do you think they prepare our graduates to work internationally? Are the skill sets of Canadian and Asia graduates comparable?

Our MBA programs are very strong and some more than others with regards to working internationally. MBAs Without Borders provides a unique opportunity to MBAs to work abroad and gain practical international experience that can only further their educational and personal development.

The skill sets of Canadian and Asian graduates are different. While Asian graduates tend to be very skilled analytically and with operations, they tend to be shy and timid in new environments (i.e. Africa, Latin America). While Canadian sometimes lack staying focused and try to do more they than can handle on a project, they do seem to do better outside of their environment and adapt quicker. These are both huge generalizations but applicable to the MBAs we have had apply to our programs from Asia and Canada thus far.

Can you give us some success stories of your MBA placements?

We are still young, but our success has been working with VF in West Africa to help market and promote malaria nets. Our work in Kenya has brought new loans and credit to local customers (exact numbers aren’t known)

Does MBAs without borders have any placements in India or South East Asia?

No Placements in India and SE Asia outside of Vietnam, though we would be very interested in businesses from these regions.

Can you tell us how you place candidates and what support you offer your placements?

We provide all the recruiting, interviewing and logistics (pre, during and post placement). In addition the MBA receives the items listed in Q3.

What are your thoughts on Asia and do you think Canadian companies are under represented in Asia? Do you see this as a possible challenge in placing MBAs internationally?

I do believe there can be more companies working in Asia, but it needs to be the right company with the right fit. Asia is growing and a tremendous pace, but simply starting up a business there is not going to be easy or smart. That said, MBAs Without Borders hopes to work with Canadian business trying to enter or work with Asia as well as local business in Asia to make them competitive, vibrant and sustainable.

What are the typical questions Canadian companies have about your program?

A. How do you select your projects?
B. How do you select your MBAs?
C. How much does it cost?
D. How much lead time do you need to send over a MBA?
E. Our your MBAs from Canada, Europe, USA, where?
F. Do we get final selection in the MBA that is hired?
G. Aside from work what responsibilities are asked of by the local company?