From microfinance institutions in Beijing to hotel management in Guatemala, one student group is mixing business and charity to assist developing enterprises all over the world.
Penn International Business Volunteers is one of Penn's few undergraduate organizations that combines economic consulting with philanthropy. The group promotes international development by creating business solutions for new non-governmental organizations.
"I think there is increasingly an interest among the students . to find creative solutions to development issues," College junior and PIBV president Jelena Djordjevic said. "[PIBV] is a really good learning environment and a great opportunity to see what consulting is like."
The organization just finished accepting applications for its summer projects, Wharton and College sophomore Elizabeth Kislak, who serves as public relations co-chairwoman for the group, explained. This year, they are sending 45 students on six different trips to China, South Africa, Guatemala, India, Ghana and Mexico.
On site, the students meet with members of the organization they are assisting as well as anyone who receives their services, Djordjevic said. For example, this summer one group will be providing consultation to Operation Smile in South Africa, an NGO that provides free plastic surgery to kids with facial deformities.
Former PIBV president and Wharton senior Aileen Long said watching "[the NGO's] progress onwards from more or less nothing is very interesting . It's kind of empowering to see."
Wharton freshman and Fundraising Committee chairman Jesse Beyroutey explained that each trip lasts roughly four to six weeks, although the exact length is "strongly dependent on what the NGO needs."
All of the trips take place during the summer and consist of four to six people per team. Students pay for their own airfare and housing, though partially subsidized through fundraising prior to the trips.
Kislak explained that PIBV has faculty and business-world mentors to help each student prepare for the projects. However, she stressed that trips are still "student-run, student-led and student-researched."
PIBV mentor and Marketing professor Leonard Lodish, said he meets with his advisees before each trip to make sure their plans are "consistent with good business practice." He too added, "most of it is, frankly, self-determined and self-organized."
This year, PIBV is trying to reach out to non-business-affiliated members of the Penn community by offering a variety of service trips that appeal to more students.
"We want anyone to be able to go," College and Wharton sophomore Aditi Kumar, who organizes projects, said.
For Beyroutey, the organization provides a way for him to use his business education to make a difference in the world, not just to make money. "PIBV is not a Wharton club," he said. "It's a club for the entire school."
