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MBA Case Study Winners Plan to Secure Coffee Farming Future: MBA News

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By QS Contributor Updated Jun 15, 2014
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The winners of the inaugural Nespresso MBA Challenge have been announced, with four MBA students from Rollins College's Crummer Graduate School of Business (GSB) taking the top prize.

The MBA case study competition consisted of 32 academic institutions from around the world, with the aim of extending Nestlé Nespresso's "sustainability engagement, deepen the dialogue with sustainability leaders in the academic community and solicit innovative solutions for real world issues faced by coffee farmers," according to the company.

Two teams were also announced as runners up, coming from the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and the University of Victoria's Peter B Gustavson School of Business. The MBA case study competition was organised by Nespresso, alongside INCAE Business School and the Sustainable Markets Intelligence Center (CIMS).

MBA Case Study Competition on Sustainable Colombian Coffee Farming

The team from Crummer GSB won with their MBA case study 'Grow Forward' framework, consisting of a multi-tiered strategy to attract and retain the next generation of Colombian coffee farmers, by ensuring the profitability and sustainability of coffee farming within the country. Primarily, the project aims to diversify the income of coffee farmers in colombia, in order to provide additional revenue and to mitigate the seasonal nature of the industry.

“It has been such an enriching experience,” explains Lamar Chesney, a member of the winning team. “We learned that it is never impossible to find solutions for big economic issues. By identifying the root-causes and addressing them effectively, small solutions will solve big issues.”

“I have studied a lot of social enterprise aspects and have noticed over the years that this often remains a theoretical exercise," says Taylor Dalton, another member of the MBA case study winning team. "Lots of people talk about it, but do not put it into practice. It is truly inspiring to see that a large company like Nespresso is making tremendous efforts to effectively implement these sustainability programs. Being a part of that is just amazing.”