Program Format
- MBA Core Courses (Operations, Marketing, Strategy, Leadership, etc.)
- Capstone Project: Each company team will develop and implement a project that prepares the company for your next phase using methodologies developed at Columbia Business School. These projects may involve process improvement, a new marketing strategy, entering new markets, or any other ambition.
- Project team: Each company will be assigned a team of MBA student consultants and a faculty advisor to help diagnose and create a solution for issues in the company.
- Morocco Immersion Week: The company team travels to the Africa Business School campus in Rabat, Morocco to connect with other participants in the program, visit companies in Morocco, and kick-off the project implementation phase.
- Campus Immersion Week: The company team travels to the Columbia campus in New York in September to close out the program with a week of project presentations, networking, meetings with faculty, and local company visits.
- See an example of the curriculum here.
Participants
Each company enrolls a team of two or three senior staff — CEO, founder, managing director, CFO, COO, or other leader. This ensures fuller uptake of class lessons and better implementation of the company project.
- Company profile: an established firm with a scalable business in or ready to enter a growth phase
- Participant profile: proficient in English, bachelor’s degree, global mindset, intellectual curiosity
Read more about who should apply to the EC-Africa Program.
Immediate Results, Long-Lasting Benefits
- Acquire tools and skills to grow your business and lead change within your organization.
- Collaborate with faculty and other expert advisors to work on a project to build your business with measurable results.
- Join a strong network of entrepreneurs, industry coaches, and business leaders from around the world.
- Gain international exposure to other regions of Africa with different business and entrepreneurial cultures.
- Experience the ideal environment to exchange insights with peer entrepreneurs and benefit from professors’ expertise.
- Take the opportunity to step back as a team and take an overall view of your company’s present and future.
- Join the Columbia Business School alumni network of more than 42,000 executives across dozens of industries in over 120 countries.
- Audit Columbia Business School classes at any time — a lifelong alumni privilege.
Program Fees
The EC-Africa Program is heavily subsidized by our program sponsors. In addition to this, each company is required to pay a small portion of the cost of the program. 2023-24 Program fees are on a sliding scale based on annual revenue, as shown below. Program fees include accommodation, class materials, and most meals for 2-3 participants. Airfare is not included for any in-person sessions.
| Company Revenue (USD) | Program Fee (USD) |
| <$2M | $10,000 |
| $2M-$5M | $15,000 |
| $5.1M-$10M | $20,000 |
| >$10M | $25,000 |
Schedule (sample of 2023-24 schedule below)
- Module 1: November 13-17, 2023 (online), introduction to the program and cohort
- Module 2: December 2023-April 2024 (online), biweekly classes and meetings with MBA consultants
- Module 3: April 29-May 3, 2024 (Rabat, Morocco), week of classes, networking, and company visits
- Module 4: May 2024-August 2024 (online), biweekly classes and meetings with faculty advisors
- Module 5: September 9-13 2024 (NYC), week of project presentations, company visits, and graduation!
- Total company commitment: 2-5 hours per week x 10 months
Sponsors
- OCP Morocco
- United Colors of Benetton
- The family of Oluseyi Bickersteth (in memoriam)
- Endeavor Energy
- The Chazen Institute at Columbia Business School
The EC-Africa program is based on Columbia’s ECLA program for Latin America, which has run since 2010 and has graduated more than 200 entrepreneurs from 116 companies in 12 different countries and across 40+ industries. It has generated for the region:
- more than 10,000 new jobs
- 38% average annual growth rate per company
- 77% of companies get the return on their investment in the program within one year of graduating.
Read more about some of our ECLA Success Stories.
Watch a recording of a recent information session to learn more.