Syracuse Stories: How A Kenyan Immersion Taught Lessons In Business And Community
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Syracuse Stories: How A Kenyan Immersion Taught Lessons In Business And Community
This is the first of a series of tests to see how much the public can expect to change the way they feel about the state of the nation. The first test is to see if the public will be as curious as the first test to see what the next day’s test will be. I’m going to try to see whether or not this will be a test of how the public feels about the change in the world. I also want to know if the next test will show how the nation will be changing the way we think about the world in the next few years. I want to see the first day of the test to be the start of a new way of thinking about what the world will be like in the future. I hope to see a change in how people feel about how the world has changed in the past decade. I don’t know if this is the beginning of the end of the change or the beginning. I have no idea what the future will be, but I hope it’ll be a lot more like the past or the present.
For months leading up to this day, myself and a team of 13 other Syracuse University students, along with one professor (who also happened to be my mother), had been preparing for the experience. Between building relationships with business partners, getting the essentials for international travel, and learning about the cultural and economic background of Kenya, anticipation had been steadily building.
One of the primary goals of the trip was to connect classroom knowledge of management principles to real-world applications in an emerging economy. Both of my parents teach at the Syracuse University Martin J. Whitman School of Management, so I have background knowledge about the “Big Four” financial firms and how they operate in the U.S. from dinner conversations, visits to lectures and talking with their students who have gone on to work at the firms. So, I was particularly excited to visit one of those firms, Ernst & Young (EY), at their Nairobi office.
A GLOBAL FIRM WITH A LOCAL TOUCH
Spending a full day at EY Nairobi offered a firsthand look at how a major global firm operates in a very different cultural and economic setting. It was fascinating to compare their structure and approach to what I know about the firm’s operations in places like New York City and London. One aspect that stood out in Kenya was a strong emphasis on teamwork and the genuine concern for employees’ personal lives, not just their professional output. This cultural difference reshaped how I view corporate environments and reinforced how much culture impacts the systems in which work is done.
While the visit to EY gave us a glimpse into large-scale, multinational business, we also had the chance to visit smaller, local enterprises that showed a very different, but equally inspiring, side of global management. One business that really captured my attention was Ubuntu Life Foundation. We toured the beautiful rural campus of Ubuntu which included a factory, a retail space, design studios and their community-focused facilities including a school for children with disabilities and clinic that features a much-needed therapy center and a pharmacy. I also enjoyed a meal at their on-site café with the founder, Zane Wilemon and the site director Rubie Ruth Mureithi, and learned how they transformed a small local initiative into a global brand. Ubuntu employs women from the margins of the community, training them to create high-quality, handmade products that are sold both locally and through their global e-commerce site.
BUILDING COMMUNITIES THROUGH ENTERPRISE
What struck me most about Ubuntu Life was their holistic approach to community development. They’re not just focused on profits; they’re actively building up the community around them. This idea of building an economy through empowering the youth and residents was something I hadn’t fully considered before, but it left a major impression on me.
This same concept was also evident during our visit to the Fleisher Foundation. The organization provides scholarships for students in Kenya to continue their education beyond primary school and into high school or college. Again, the focus on empowering young people to drive long-term economic growth stood out. It showed how innovation in business can go far beyond products and profits and can directly change lives. It was also an opportunity to get to know kids my age through a friendly soccer match.
Another highlight of the trip was our meeting with Patrick Obath, the Vice Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in Africa. He provided incredible insight into the challenges and opportunities that come with building economic prosperity in Kenya and other emerging markets across Africa. His deep understanding of international business was inspiring, and he did a great job connecting the economic theories we had studied in the required preparatory class at Syracuse University with the real-world challenges and strategies of growing a nation’s economy.
As a student with a strong interest in both business and sports management, I was especially intrigued by Mr. Obath’s role as the tournament director for the Kenyan Open, a professional golf event on the DP World Tour. He explained the complexity of securing sponsorships, managing supply chains, and coordinating logistics for such a large event. It was a great example of how sports and business intersect in meaningful ways, and it gave me an even deeper appreciation for the management side of major sporting events.
BUSINESS AS A TOOL FOR CHANGE
Reflecting on the trip as a whole, I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take part in this experience so early in my college journey. As someone just beginning my academic path in the Whitman School of Management, it was amazing to see how the concepts I’ll be learning over the next few years are already being applied in real-world situations. More importantly, I saw how much culture, compassion, and long-term vision matter in building sustainable businesses.
This immersion trip wasn’t just about learning how businesses operate abroad. It was about understanding how business can be a tool for positive change, especially when it’s used to empower people, build communities, and create opportunities where it might not have existed before. It reinforced the idea that management isn’t just about strategy and spreadsheets, it’s first and foremost about people.
Going forward, I’ll carry the lessons from Kenya with me in everything I do as I begin my college career at Whitman, whether that’s in the classroom, an internship, or a future job. The exposure to global business, the inspiring entrepreneurs we met, and the lessons from a cultural perspective all combined to create an experience that will shape how I approach business and leadership for years to come.
Author Quinn Wimer is a first-year student dually enrolled in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the David B. Falk College of Sport. Quinn was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and has been a part of the Syracuse University community for many years as both of his parents teach business courses at the Whitman School.
About the Martin J. Whitman School of Management: The Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University inspires students for a world of accelerating change. Offering B.S., MBA, M.S., and Ph.D. programs, all accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Whitman School’s faculty includes internationally known scholars and researchers, as well as successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. Whitman continues to be ranked among the nation’s top business schools by U.S. News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek. To learn more about the Whitman School of Management, visit Whitman.syracuse.edu.
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