A University of Colorado Leeds School of Business MBA student will spend one year as a volunteer business consultant in Tajikistan as part of the MBA Enterprise Corps.
Jay Behringer will join the Pragma Corporation's Small and Medium Enterprise Development Project, a venture designed to assist small- and medium-sized companies in Tajikistan with marketing and business plans, trade opportunities and management practices.
Behringer's expertise will help improve accounting systems in Tajikistan by implementing measures such as the International Accounting Standards and by providing training and support to accounting professionals.
"By joining the MBA Enterprise Corps I'll be able to apply the tools I learned from the Leeds School's MBA program to a country recently introduced to a market economy," said Behringer. "I'm looking forward to gaining an international business experience, learning a new language and assisting companies in transforming economies and emerging markets. I'm willing to exchange 15 months of my life for the opportunity of a lifetime."
Starting in July, Behringer will spend three months participating in intensive language training and acculturation in Tajikistan, followed by 12 months of service to the project. The corps will provide airfare, room and board, medical insurance, a re-entry stipend and a living allowance.
The MBA Enterprise Corps recruits second-year and recently graduated MBA students from top universities to provide assistance to companies in developing economies. Volunteers broaden their cultural business skills by working with foreign managers and companies experiencing the transition from a struggling to a stable economic environment.
The corps was founded in 1990 by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and the Consortium for the MBA Enterprise Corps. Funding for the program is provided by corporate and government sponsors.