"You got a real sense of business in Nigeria: how to conduct business, [an] accurate depiction of life and constraints in Africa. There's a lot of opportunity..., [which is] not to say that there aren't problems. I can focus and change one section of the town, and if everyone does it, there's going to be a real change." --Chijioke Asomugha '09

Columbia Business School's flagship Master Classes add a whole new dimension to learning, and Private Equity and Entrepreneurship in Africa is no exception. Each Master Class focuses on a specific industry context and draws significant input from the professional community through group projects, guest speakers, adjunct faculty and alumni participation. With substantial project work and practitioner involvement, Master Classes are designed to provide Columbia MBA students with a unique exposure to real-time business challenges.

What students take away from Private Equity and Entrepreneurship in Africa is a real sense of business opportunities in one of the most exciting emerging economies in the world. Students examine how entrepreneurs and investors structure, negotiate and execute deals that make use of current resources to create business opportunities in the often challenging environments of Africa. What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in Africa? What does it take to run a successful venture-capital or private-equity fund in Africa? These are some of the key questions that the class tries to address. Entrepreneurship represents an important force for economic growth in Africa, and financing entrepreneurs is a critical issue for the continent's future development.