Success for Cambridge executive MBAs in Africa

Among the recent graduates of Cambridge Judge Business School's Executive MBA (EMBA) programme is Kenneth Okpara, a Nigerian national. Formerly a financial management specialist at the World Bank, he was appointed the honourable commissioner for Economic Planning & Budgeting at Delta State, Nigeria Government in 2011.

He believes that the qualification made him a stronger candidate for the role. "The governor of my state in Nigeria reached out to recruit me to work with him," he says. "And he knew in considering me that I had completed the EMBA course at Cambridge."

As the commissioner, Okpara has economic and budgetary responsibility for a state of more than four million people. He has found that skills and knowledge gained on the EMBA have proved invaluable in helping him to execute policy innovations.

"A year on, the changes I've made in terms of good governance and economic development are fully implemented, and they're working," he says. "For this, the management and strategy classes on the EMBA have been very useful. And the soft skills I gained at Cambridge - leadership, emotional intelligence and handling difficult conversations - have helped me to change perceptions and mindsets."

"The Group Consulting Project on the EMBA, too, was important. We had to work together towards a common goal, and one of the things I took away from it was how to plan the allocation of tasks and division of responsibilities while avoiding clashes or duplication of roles. A lot of this happens in government."

A current participant on the EMBA programme is Eddie Elcomb, a senior project manager at Project and Building Consultancy originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "I would love to take the expertise I've gained back to Africa," he says.

"It's something that is always in my mind. It's now about finding the right opportunity, where I can solve a real problem and do something that has an impact on a lot of people."

Elcomb, who graduated from London South Bank University in 1997 with his year's top first-class degree in civil engineering, believes that the EMBA has equipped him with vital tools for future business success.

"A couple of years ago, I could only count on my technical background. Though I had run a small business, I felt limited in terms of my understanding of the business environment. Since I was thinking of developing business in Africa, I wanted to gain an understanding of the commercial world, of marketing, accounting, corporate finance, strategy and innovation. Now, having gone through the Cambridge programme, I feel confident and well equipped with the skills to go back if the right opportunity arrived."

And two feel that there are advantages to the Cambridge EMBA that go well beyond the curriculum content. "It's not just about the knowledge you gain - it's the experience, the people you meet and the leverage of the Cambridge brand name, which people respect," says Okpara.

"In Africa, as all over the world, Cambridge means quality and prestige."