Why global development professionals and recruiters are on the MBA bandwagon

This past September, Mathilde Thorel packed her bags and took off for eight months of travel across Africa and Asia to help women social entrepreneurs grow their businesses and amplify their social impact. As part of her Why-Not-Women project, Thorel is meeting with women in Burkina Faso, Tanzania, India, Nepal, Philippines and Indonesia to improve their business models and find innovative solutions to make them sustainable in the long term. Thorel, a graduate student at Sciences Po University in Paris, is one of many development-minded students pursuing a Master of Business Administration. Global development recruiters, too, are on the MBA bandwagon; recruiters polled in the recent “Devex Career Trends in 2015” survey identified an MBA as the second most in-demand degree, right after a master's in international development. While a development degree lends an understanding of underlying issues, Thorel said, a business degree “gives you the tools to bring solutions” and equips development professionals with the mindset and skills to innovate, think of new economic models and produce financial results. The U.S. Agency for International Development, for example, is looking for just these skills in candidates for its foreign service program as economic, private enterprise or financial management officers and at headquarters on the programmatic side for accounting and financial management positions, Creighton Lee, a recruiter for USAID, told Devex. An MBA is a powerful degree to obtain because candidates can “help people figure out how to help people make money for themselves, and also people become less reliant on government as the mainstream of revenue,” Lee added. MBA for social impact Most social entrepreneurs Thorel has met during her travels started a social enterprise because he or she could not ensure social impact in the long term through nonprofit activities. “Yet, they do not know how to run and grow a business,” Thorel told Devex. “This is the reason why business skills are so valuable when it comes to the world of social entrepreneurship: One can show that you can do good by doing good business.” Thorel has worked both in the private and nonprofit sectors, and realized a hybrid of both can bring powerful solutions for development, especially as more corporations focus on social impact and an increasing number of actors in developing countries are looking for solutions outside traditional aid. “What people need is business resources, talents and financial investments to grow entrepreneurial solutions.” Thorel said. And those interested in working in global development are noticing. Amritha Subramanian, an MBA student at Columbia University, is transferring skills learned from her degree to a waste management venture in India she launched in December, and she plans to return to India to spur development through private sector initiatives. Desiree Montealegre, a student at IESE Business School in Barcelona, also plans to use the skills garnered in her degree to bring back to her home country, to develop products aimed at the bottom of the pyramid such as mobile wallets and micro-credits in Nicaragua. “I think this is the way to include the marginalized into the financial and social sectors, and an MBA was the best way to prepare myself,” Montealegre said. “I needed to learn about general management, finance, human resources and strategy in order to really make a lasting impact in my country.” Recruiting MBAs As the private sector becomes an ever-bigger player in development initiatives, recruiters are seeking candidates with business skills to reflect this trend for one main reason: management capabilities. MBA candidates bring a global mindset and cross-cultural skills, framework for effective decision-making as well as analytical thinking and communication skills into the global development professional landscape, according to Rosie Innes, associate director of IESE Business School MBA Career Services. And at the recent Career Forum in Washington, development recruiters told Devex that applicants with MBAs are welcome — and even sought after. Reaching out to MBA candidates is part of the strategic human resources plan at Chemonics International, with outreach occurring through site visits, liaising with program career services and promoting the brand at events, online and via social media. And USAID representatives specifically attend MBA-oriented job fairs, such as those held by the National Black MBA Association, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, Asian MBA and Out & Equal, Lee shared with Devex. Above all, It’s managerial skills that stand out, according to recruiters at Chemonics, Counterpart International and World Vision. Candidates with MBAs are good at “getting projects on track,” Matt Swaim, recruitment associate at Chemonics, noted. Counterpart International, too, is increasingly hiring candidates with MBAs for new business development for the managerial skills they bring. Business efficiency in NGOs is not something many think of as a priority, one recruiter said, but it’s becoming increasingly important. As the conversation of generalists versus specialists continues, Bettina Hasel, human resources specialist at UNICEF, told Devex the organization is seeking more generalists — particularly in operations, which is where most MBA candidates apply. “Management gives you the whole portfolio of those areas ... finance, supply chain, human resource and operations,” she said, noting it is important for MBA students to specialize in specific areas of global development. MBA applicants also bring strong analytical skills in economics and statistics for impact evaluations as the field increasingly focuses on measuring data and the effectiveness of interventions, according to Social Impact Deputy Director of Recruitment Erin Cross. The degree carries “heavy weight” in applications, according to Ruth Iswariah, senior talent acquisitions partner of international programs at World Vision. “It’s like the cherry on the top … it brings a well-rounded background,” Iswariah said. “If you have development experience and an MBA, you’re a superstar.” You know you need a postgraduate degree to advance in a global development career, but deciding on a program, degree and specialization can be overwhelming. Devex and our partners are digging into all things graduate school and global development in a weeklong series called Grad School Week. Join online events and read more advice on pursuing a postgraduate education here.