Rhodes University Business School MBA student, Godfrey Nyamande, has been awarded the Association of MBAs 50th anniversary scholarship, the only award of its kind for the whole of the African continent.
Awarded to one recipient from each of the six continents, the AMBA Scholarship was launched in London this year in celebration of their 50th anniversary with the theme ‘The Year of the MBA’. The six scholarships will contribute $50,000 (R680 000) worth of funding in a bid to champion sustainable and responsible management.
“I am honoured and humbled by this award. The Rhodes Business School is an accredited member of AMBA and so by virtue of being an MBA student I was offered free membership. The Director, Professor Owen Skae, encouraged us to register and participate in the competition. I am so glad he did,” expressed Nyamande.
He added that, “MBA studies are costly especially when you are financing your studies from your own pocket. This funding is everything I needed to know that I am on the right track”.
Nyamande aims to harness all the business management principles he is learning in the MBA program to facilitate his plan to change careers. An engineer by profession, the 41 year old from Harare is currently working as an African representative for an NGO called Global Initiatives for Distributed and Local Energy.
The NGO seeks to create awareness for the use of renewable energy in South Africa and subsequently, the continent. “This is a game changer for Africa because other continents are way ahead of us. Luckily, we do not have to create new models, we just need to adjust and find solutions that are relevant for our environment and needs. My MBA will help me lead this project,” he explains.
Professor Owen Skae, Director of the Rhodes Business School congratulated Nyamande. “We are very proud of Godfrey’s achievement, especially in light of the fact that we have such a strong emphasis on sustainability. Ultimately though the credit is all his as he showed the initiative and wrote the essay. The fact that it was acknowledged by the judging panel, confirms that we are imparting the knowledge that will make for a sustainable world”.
The winners of the scholarships were chosen because they share AMBA’s values in promoting sustainable and responsible management and have strong potential for career advancement. The candidates demonstrated the passion and drive to lead and make a positive impact in today's diverse environment.
AMBA’s Chief Executive Andrew Main Wilson, said, “With 30 000 students and graduate MBA members, from more than 150 countries and 245 accredited Schools from more than 85 countries, we are building the world’s most influential group of current and future organisation leaders and thoughts leaders”.
“I believe such leaders will be increasingly influential in creating a better and more sustainable future for our world. Business leaders over the next 20 years may prove to be more influential than politicians or military forces in solving many of the world’s problems,” added Wilson.
The individual scholarships are worth just over R110 000, which goes towards the tuition fees of an AMBA-accredited MBA programme. AMBA-accredited MBA Schools were invited to recommend inspirational applicants who had to submit a short essay outlining their commitment to responsible management and sustainability and discuss why this is important for the future of business.
The judging panel was comprised of deans from leading AMBA-accredited Business Schools, members of AMBA’s board, a senior management team as well as representatives from leading global employers.