GSIPM

Photo credit: Lucy Jodlowska, MBA/MPA ’11

Wendell Berry said “the past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.”  For many students here at the Monterey Institute, the idea of adding something better to the world is at the heart of their personal and professional pursuits. Immersive learning programs, in particular, offer students the chance to put theory into practice and make a lasting impact.

One of our newest and most innovative immersive learning programs, the Frontier Market Scouts (FMS) has proven that by focusing on values-centered investing, even traditional capitalism can be re-imagined.

“Social enterprises in the frontier markets hold the most promising problem set for our students to discover, experiment, and invent solutions that may change the world and redefine capitalism as we know it today,” says Yuwei Shi, co-founder of FMS and dean of the Graduate School of International Policy and Management (GSIPM).

FMS begins with two weeks of practitioner-led intensive training, which can be completed in Amsterdam, Monterey, or Salt Lake City. Collaboratively management by the Monterey Institute, Sanghata Global and Village Capital, the curriculum is designed to prepare students to serve as impact investment managers and empower social entrepreneurs in some of the poorest regions.

Through a multi-stakeholder process, each Scout is placed in a low-income or capital-weak area in countries such as India, Haiti, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. During field placement, a Scout’s mission is to discover and identify promising local entrepreneurs and help to connect them to investors. FMS field placements, which vary from three to six months, often turn out to be a challenging, career-changing, and rewarding experience.

“The Frontier Market Scouts Program has given me the opportunity to breathe at the nexus of international development, sustainable business, and innovative technology. I have matured mentally, socially, and emotionally form this experience. I am also humbled by having been part of this program with my fellow scout, entrepreneurs, and investors.” – Ravi Kurani (MBA ’11), Frontier Market Scouts

What has been most exciting about the FMS program so far, is the people it has brought together and the exciting changes they have made collectively – directing money to more purposeful places, giving the enterprising poor a chance to enter the market, and above all adding something better to our future.

Click here to apply for Frontier Market Scouts. Winter 2014 deadline is October 15, 2013.  For inquiries, please email us at: fms@miis.edu.