Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation

The specialization ‘International Business for Emerging Markets’ was designed to implement the initiative of the Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation. The Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation, established in 2007, is a joint initiative of the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Vlerick Management School in Leuven and Gent (Belgium), and PA International in The Hague.

The goal of the Kofi Annan Business Schools Foundation is to provide the opportunity for talented and motivated students from developing areas, who do not belong to a privileged class and lack sufficient financial means, to study at and obtain a diploma from one of the associated business schools in Europe. Upon return to their home countries, this new generation of young, innovative and socially responsible entrepreneurs can contribute to the strengthening of entrepreneurial capacity and business administration in developing areas as an effective catalyst for economic development, job creation and poverty alleviation.

This initiative directly contributes to the accomplishment of the UN Millennium Development Goals. In particular within the framework of MDG 8, ‘Develop a global partnership for development’, the Foundation intends to strengthen the relation between (entrepreneurial) individuals, institutions and companies in Europe and in the South for the general societal benefit. Late 2006, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Kofi Annan, consented to give his name to this unique business school project.

Since 2007, ten students from Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Peru, and India  have received fellowships from the Kofi Annan Business School Foundation to follow the ‘International Businss for Emerging Markets’ program at the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.