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Two Moore School students found business is not "as usual" in developing countries at opposite ends of Asia. Andrew Schwark, a fifth-year student with majors in international business, finance, and global supply chain/operations management, has been working this summer in the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan as an intern with the Columbia, S.C.-based Center for Global Strategies. Lauren Anderson, a senior majoring in international business and marketing, participated in SEALNet's (Southeast Asian Service Leadership Network) Project Malaysia in late May-early June. Below are lightly edited excerpts from their accounts of these experiences.

Andrew Schwark, Azerbaijan

Walking down the busy streets of downtown Baku, Azerbaijan's capital and largest city, I find myself struck by a palpable vibe of enthusiasm and progress. Flush with oil revenues from a recent production sharing agreement with industry heavyweight BP, Baku is flourishing—new buildings are being erected at a Dubai-esque pace, and Mercedes taxis fight with BMW police cars and civilian Hummers for control of the roads. If that weren’t enough of a testimony to the Azeris’ rise in purchasing power, four McDonald’s (MakDonalds, that is) have even sprouted up around the city.

Andrew Schwark on a rooftop with the Baku skyline in the background

However, as in many emerging markets, these very visible, superficial improvements mask a lagging infrastructure, interminable bureaucracy, and rampant corruption. In Baku, for instance, juxtaposed with four-star hotels and haute-couture are the lowest quality water system in the world (worse than all major African cities), potholed roads, and disheveled refugee camps from a war with neighboring Armenia. And, in contrast with the growing presence of American firms here, one finds a notoriously corrupt judicial system and customs regime, markets dominated by powerful local oligarchies, and an endless supply of complicated, yet trivial, paperwork. The contradictions don’t end there. Regarding prices, it’s easy to take the bus for a quarter or metro for a nickel. However, foreign companies fear a high, oil-induced inflation rate and land speculation, leading to downtown real estate prices that would make any college student cringe (try $5,000 per square meter in some central locales--yikes!).

Andrew Schwark (R) with Center for Global Strategies colleague Grant Parker and Azeri friend, Javid Huseynov

It is this intriguing juxtaposition of advancement and obstacles that has brought me to the Caucasus this summer and that has drawn me to the developing world in general. An intern with a Columbia-based nonprofit organization called the Center for Global Strategies, I am currently researching ways in which American business can help Azerbaijan achieve developmental goals and diversify its foreign investments, while maintaining American standards of integrity. Because there is often tremendous developmental disparity in emerging markets (e.g., people will have cell phones but no running water), it is the Center’s and my hope that, through analysis of the challenges facing business in Azerbaijan and a thorough understanding of the opportunities available here, we will be able to reduce this troubling trend and concentrate on sustainable and durable infrastructural improvements. What’s more, we hope such an initiative will create links of goodwill and unity between the U.S. and this former-Soviet, Muslim nation.

(L to R) Andrew Schwark; colleague Oakley Paik, whose company, GP, is a consulting firm for Korean foreign investors based in Azerbaijan; and a local guide who drove them through the mountains of Hajikend.

I have trekked all over the city, speaking with a broad spectrum of groups, ranging from official government ministries (Health, Agriculture, Taxation, etc.) to small and medium-sized American firms (such as an English fluency center and consulting firm) to larger American corporations (Avis, Hyatt, Ernst & Young) to universities to nonprofit organizations. This fascinating endeavor has provided me with an equally broad range of perspectives—from an optimistic Azeri’s “Problems? What problems?” to a Westerner’s frustrated “Where do you start?”--in addition to a very candid glimpse into a business culture unlike anything most Americans know.

Andrew Schwark trying on a sheepskin hat at boutique in Baku

As I have learned from this trip to Baku and sojourns throughout Western Africa, doing business (and just plain living) in the developing world can be a challenge. Dealing with frequent power outages, water shortages, haphazard transportation (I’ve shared a boat with a cow and have hit a pig while riding in a taxi), and parasites or other ills can make daily life seem more like an episode of “Survivor.” But, the amount of good to be done, the willingness and enthusiasm of locals to strive for improvements despite adversity, and the sheer opportunity for growth (Azerbaijan had the world’s fastest growing economy in 2007) make work here overwhelmingly worthwhile. And, with enough persistence and coddling, things do get better. Such positives propel me to continue garnering experiences in the developing world, in the hopes of making some sort of difference.

Lauren Anderson, Malaysia

SEALnet is an acronym for the South East Asian Leadership Network, a service leadership organization born out of Stanford University in 2005, with sponsors ranging from ASEAN to Goldman Sachs Social Entrepreneurship Fund. The service leadership projects are planned during the academic year and then executed during a two-week period in the summer. The first project was in Vietnam, but over the past three summers, the projects have expanded into Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia. In each location, teams train a selected group of high school students in leadership skills so they can continue the project after the SEALnet team leaves. This ensures the sustainability of the project and motivates local youth to pioneer their own projects.

The purpose of SEALNet's Project Malaysia was to raise awareness of the importance of conserving the environment in the city of Kota Kinabalu. Kota Kinabalu is the rapidly growing capital of (Malaysian state) Sabah, whose natural surroundings are endowed with beautiful beaches, Mt. Kinabalu, and one-third of the total mangroves in all of Malaysia. Environmental sustainability is of particular relevance to the city of Kota Kinabalu, since its economy is heavily dependent on ecotourism. Preserving the environment for generations to come was our overlying theme, but since we were partnered with the World Wildlife Foundation and the Kota Kinabalu Wetlands Center, we focused the bulk of our efforts toward preserving the mangrove wetlands in Malaysia.

Lauren Anderson (center) in Malaysia with trainees

The wetlands play a key part in holding together the ecosystem, and mangroves have actually saved people’s lives during cyclones and tsunamis. Since mangroves are essentially trees that live in the water, they can play a pivotal role in blocking water that is rushing inland. Their deep pervasive roots help hold them in place and keep the ground beneath them intact. Learning about mangroves and then educating high school students about them was especially interesting and important to me as I had just spent time in Sri Lanka, where most of that beautiful island had not been rebuilt from the devastating tsunami of 2004, and where locals still talked of their pain and loss as if it were yesterday.

The SEALNet Malaysia group, alongside the high school students, physically reconstructed a beautiful garden in the Wetlands center that had become overgrown. We also cleaned up a beach, which had been frequented by the homeless, and filled over 20 bags full of trash. On our last day together, the Minister of State Tourism, Culture, and the Environment, along with representatives from the Sabah Journalist Association and the general manager of Shell Malaysia, came out to the Wetlands Center for a press conference and to help us plant mangroves in the swamp. That day we planted over 100 mangroves and received a great deal of press coverage, which was excellent for the Wetland Center.

Lauren Anderson with SEALNET Malaysia group

Most of our team consisted of MIT students, and the rest were from other Ivy League and private schools. I was the only student (once again ― I participated in Project Philippines last summer) from a public university. With a team of 20, there were definite differences in thinking, especially between MIT students and other students with majors in the humanities. It was a learning experience working and living with these students for two weeks.

By participating in this project I learned more than I ever could have imagined about leadership, working on a diverse team, and the environment itself. I learned about the significance of natural areas, particularly wetlands, and how just a little disregard can destroy so much. I also saw how just a bit of investment in publicizing environmental issues can change mindsets. And, I learned that physically going out and working in the environment isn’t as dirty and demanding as one would think, and can make a huge difference.

Wisconsin native Andrew Schwark is a fifth-year international business, finance, and global supply chain/operations management major at the Moore School of Business. During his collegiate career, his travels and studies have taken him to France, Belgium, Romania, Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and most recently, Azerbaijan. A 2008 Truman Scholar Finalist and 2006-2007 Rotary Scholar to Western Africa, he has long expressed an interest in working in international business development in the developing world, with an emphasis on improving business education and stimulating foreign investment. He hopes to work as a developmental/management consultant upon graduation from USC. In Columbia, he divides his time between working with the Columbia World Affairs Council and the Palmetto Institute.

Lauren Anderson, another Wisconsinite, is a senior majoring in international business and marketing, with minors in advertising, public relations, and Chinese studies. She has spent the past three summers in China, where she has interned with Chinese software company, AVCON, and more recently performed market research for Wainhouse Research, the leading consulting agency in the audio/visual communications industry. Last summer, she worked for an NGO, the China Children and Teenagers’ Fund, to improve educational opportunities for girls, and for a SEALNet project in the Philippines. She spent this past spring in India studying business in India and volunteering at HOPE Worldwide. At USC, she has been involved with the Community Service Council Executive Board, the Elections Commission, and Emerging Leaders, and has served as Student Comptroller, Resident Advisor, Supplemental Instruction Leader, Conversation Partner, and Global Mentor. She was one of only two (with Moore School senior Lucas Fox) students from U.S. public universities to attend conferences of the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations in New York, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

Gail Crouch
July 2008