Stern School of Business Students Spread Social Mission Across the Globe

      Using business to affect positive change is part of the training for students in the Stern School of Business. But M.B.A. student Priya Pandya, who brought her business expertise to the health care sectors in Africa and South Asia last summer, and undergraduate Rohun Pai, who volunteered in a Tanzanian orphanage over the winter break, have already put that training to work.
      With help from S.I.I.F.—Stern’s graduate Social Impact Internship Fund, which provides funding to Stern M.B.A. students who pursue summer internship opportunities in the social sector—Pandya worked with the Clinton Foundation HIV/Aids Initiative in Malawi, Niger, and Ethiopia for seven weeks, analyzing the supply chains of local producers of a nutrient-dense product used to treat malnutrition, called ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). She also spent six weeks in Pakistan working with the Acumen Fund on nutrition sector mapping and health portfolio due diligence.
      “I learned about new cultures, customs, languages, and history,” says Pandya, “not to mention the valuable knowledge I gained about the business environments in these countries.”
      During the course of her work, Pandya identified several opportunities to make bulk purchases of groundnuts and vegetable oil used in RUTF, yielding 3 to 5 percent cost reductions. She also conducted a comparative study on global and regional food commodities markets for the raw materials used in the malnutrition treatment, Plumpynut. In Pakistan, she worked with colleagues to analyze potential pipeline investments in the health sector.
      “The problem solving, analytical skills, and creativity required of me that summer was similar, if not more challenging, than most corporate consulting work in corporate America,” says Pandya. “I feel ready to take on my next career challenges, and I look forward to pursuing a career in social enterprise post-graduation.”
      A recipient of Stern’s Social Impact Stipend, which awards financial assistance to Stern undergraduates pursuing unpaid internships or service projects with nonprofit organizations, Pai traveled to Tengeru, Tanzania, to work with the local community and children in need. Living with a local family, Pai visited the Nkwarenga Orphanage everyday and tidied the facilities before interacting with the children.
      “My priority was to help the kids with anything they needed, whether it was playing games with them or bathing the young children,” Pai says. “I formed such amazing relationships with the kids at the orphanage and with the locals as well. Despite their lack of water, electricity, and other amenities, the people of Tanzania are so content and exuberant.”
      Pai, who is majoring in finance and international business at Stern and pursuing a minor in Swahili, is dedicated to continuing his work and plans to return to the orphanage.
      “I miss the children and I’m also excited to help build a library for the community, an unprecedented venture in Tengeru,” says Pai. “The library will begin the process of creating infrastructure in the small village, which is a key component of its long-term development and success.”