Having just finalised the second term, 30 LBS students and partners packed up their business casual attire, sunscreen and mosquito spray. The reason? This year, they had decided to spend their spring break doing volunteer consulting on a microfinance project in the rural village, Ekumfi Ekotsi, near Ghana's Cape Coast. Working together with other members of the LBS community as well as the non-profit organisation Global Brigades, the students attempted to empower the village financially and got a unique opportunity to apply the skills taught at LBS in a very unfamiliar setting. The week's projects included writing a business plan for a bee keeping cooperative, assessing the village bank's capital requirements, improving financial literacy, introducing a wholesale model, and directing the village's first ever shareholder meeting. The project did not only provide an insight into the complexities of inducing financial development, it also facilitated heated discussions about the merits of financial aid and sparked entrepreneurial ideas among the students.
