Stanford Seed Interns at West African Mobile Tech Firm
Stanford’s Graduate School of Business recently published an article about the experience of Stanford Seed Musila Munuve’s recent internship at Ghanaian mobile technology company SMSGH, which creates “mobile solutions for different companies.”
Simply put: the underlying goal of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program is to “eliminate poverty in developing countries through job creation.” The Seed program currently has two flagship sites – Seed East Africa in Kenya and Seed West Africa in Ghana – but has plans to expand to “developing countries throughout the world.”
The innovative program offers the opportunity for “high-potential leaders based in developing economies a chance to assess their company’s vision, redefine strategies and make changes toward exponential growth that will create new jobs in the region.”
Munuve, a student from Kenya, explained his interest in the Seed program and SMSGH:
“I wanted to learn more about the tech sector in West Africa. [I wanted to] figure out how I’ll fit in going back to the continent and the opportunities that are present. I felt confident I could learn about the field and the company and make suggestions.”
However, Munuve’s experience at SMSGH was far from smooth sailing; the article explains that he “found himself working with little structure, attempting to improve synergy between the company’s marketing, sales and customer service teams.” But the challenge of hopping into a small company’s transitional moment suited Munuve, who described working “closely with the CEO, business analyst, CTO, and CSO” as an “empowering experience” that gave him “an increased self-awareness — of his work and communication styles, and how he’s perceived by others.”
Munuve says upon graduation this coming May, he wants to “combine his interests in technology and soccer to help connect fans around the world to each other and the game through digitization.”
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
