Most of the students attending Global Network Week in Cape Town are learning about social innovations across Africa for the first time. Francis Dabanka MBA '16 says that for him, the week provides an opportunity to understand his own professional life in better detail.

Dabanka, an MBA student at the University of Ghana Business School, has worked for three multinational firms. He says that understanding the political economy is the most important takeaway for businesses looking to do business in Africa. By studying at the University of Cape Town with Global Network students for the week, Dabanka says he hopes to gain additional insights and new ways of approaching business here and in his home country.

“It is completely necessary for businesses to understand that here,” Dabanka says. “If you do not understand the politics, you can’t get anywhere. In Africa, the politics mix much more with business because the institutions are still new. If you can understand that, you will be successful.”

Matthew O’Rourke is blogging this week from the University of Cape Town’s Global Network Week module on emerging markets.