ATLANTA, October 19, 2000. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a $5 million grant to Georgia State University to create a business training and skills development institute in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Named for the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the goal of the Ronald H. Brown Institute is to contribute to private-sector-led economic growth in Africa by strengthening the skills of people already in business and providing training to other individuals, especially students, aspiring to enter the business world.
Georgia State's Robinson College of Business and Andrew Young School of Policy Studies are leading a consortium of U.S. and South African institutions to undertake the project. Principal partners include the University of Pretoria and its faculty of economics and management sciences and the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The institute will be located on the campus of the University of Pretoria, strategically situated in the business innovation hub created through a partnership between the University of Pretoria, the CSIR and the Gauteng Provincial Government. These institutions will help implement all aspects of the project.
"We welcome this collaboration with Georgia State University," said Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo, dean of the faculty of economic and management sciences at the University of Pretoria. "In addition to the workshops, seminars and internships, the faculty of management sciences and CSIR will endeavor to establish business incubators that will be used for the benefit of Sub-Saharan Africa participants in the Ron H. Brown Institute."
The University of Venda, located in the rural northern province of South Africa, and Albany State University, located in southwest Georgia and home to the Ronald H. Brown International Trade Center, will host workshops focusing on agri-business promotion. The institute will offer internships in American and African companies, women's mentorship programs, and fellowships for study at Georgia State. Internships will focus on sectors critical to growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, including science and technology, tourism, mining, international trade, finance, information technology, and research and development. By the end of the project, 250 participants -- 30 percent of whom will be women -- are expected to have completed the internship program.
Four participants in the Ronald H. Brown Fellows Program will undertake a year of post-graduate study and mentorship at Georgia State University. The institute also will offer seminars and workshops, assist with the development of business plans, identify business-financing options, and promote business-to-business relationships.
The Robinson College of Business will contribute its resources in technology (information systems), hospitality, business-to-business development and promotion, business incubation, entrepreneurship, research, and strategic planning. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies will provide expertise in public finance, taxation and international fiscal/economic reform, emphasizing public-sector policies designed to promote a thriving private sector.
An important component of the project is the creation of an endowment fund to insure the long-term sustainability of the Institute once the four-year development phase of the project is over. To this end, $2 million of grant funds will be placed in an endowment. Consortium partners will work to increase this endowment to a level that will permit the continuous operation of programs of the Institute. The Ron H. Brown Institute will be established in close collaboration with the U.S.-based Ronald H. Brown Foundation.
In commenting on the grant, Project Co-Directors H. Fenwick Huss, associate dean of the Robinson College of Business, and Roy Bahl Jr., dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, noted that "…these resources will allow the Georgia State consortium to contribute significantly to economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Because of the tremendous development challenges and the vast economic potential, there is no more fitting place for Georgia State University to expand its educational outreach than to the nations of Africa."
Georgia State University's leadership role in creating the Ronald H. Brown Institute will be enhanced by existing programs with the University of Venda and the University of Pretoria. The Robinson College of Business is helping to build the curriculum and strengthen the faculty in the business school at the University of Venda through a USAID grant. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies is developing a joint master's degree program in economics and public administration with the faculty of economics and management sciences at the University of Pretoria.
For more information, contact:
Robinson College of Business
Dr. Fenwick Huss, associate dean and project co-director.
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Dr. Roy Bahl, dean,
Betsy Robertson, director of public relations
