The Africa Business & Society Group’s mission is to organize SOM students with African connections and interests to socialize their experiences, knowledge, networks, and passions for Africa-related business, career development, education, impact-creation, cultural outreach, and issue-advocacy – at SOM and at larger YALE.
We execute on our mission through the following programs, events, and initiatives:
i) African career fairs and internship-organization sourcing through partnerships with Yale undergraduate African student-organizations like YASA and YAAPD;
ii) Africa Growth Stories, a Thought Leadership Speaker Series with leading African business, government, nonprofit, and civil-society actors;
iii) Africa Start-up Review, an annual SOM-hosted competition centered on start-up businesses in Africa;
iv) Africa Admissions Ambassadors events in Africa powered by student initiative;
v) Mentorship/Buddy program to ease acculturation transition of newly admitted African students;
vi) Joint hosting of cultural events like African cappellas and artisanal exhibitions with the Cross-Cultural Committee of Student Life;
vii) Educational trips to development institutions, museums, and national parks in flagship American cities;
viii) Advocacy to enrich SOM curriculum with salient African subject-matter;
ix) Engagement of SOM African alumni in a groundbreaking Africa-focused Lifetime Mentors program;
x) Outreach to and liaising of African GNAM schools;
xi) Joint Club events with the Japan, Greater China, South Asian Business Forum, and Korea clubs to explore World Connections across seas;
xii) Africa Enterprise Week, a week-long Club trip to Africa for hands-on immersion in social and business projects that actuate development impact;
xiii) Social and networking events like African Movie Nights for the whole of SOM;
xiv) Africa Conversations to create community awareness via narratives that echo success stories in Africa; and
xv) Partnered fundraising initiatives with African groups at other schools of Yale to support headline health, natural disaster, land-biodiversity, and human rights emergencies (the Africa Healthcare, Earth Conservation and Rights Abuse Fund).