MBA graduate Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke shares her route into the humanitarian sector

For many years, the corporate world has been the main destination for MBA graduates seeking to join the echelons of senior management. Now, business leaders are escaping the rat race in search of rewarding careers in the not-for-profit sector.

Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke, an MBA graduate from ESCP Europe Business School talks about her route into the humanitarian sector and how through changing other people's lives, she has transformed her own:

"I've always been acutely aware that in other parts of the world people just like me are struggling to meet even basic living conditions. But regardless of whether poverty, disease, war, natural disasters or corrupt regimes are to blame, one thing is clear - it's always the innocent who suffer the most.  And there's so much that must and can be done to help those in need.

"My desire to help other people has always been the driving force behind my career choices. After leaving Cambridge University with a language degree I went to work for Human Rights Watch in New York, specifically for Africa Watch, where I coordinated a project about the human rights abuses suffered by African writers. I then lived in Africa for several years, first in Cameroon, working at Le Messager, a newspaper that has won awards for its efforts to promote press freedom, and later in Ivory Coast, where I worked for the West African regional office of Unicef on a project to promote girls' education.

"For the past six years I've worked with a Paris-based non-governmental organisation, Enfants d'Asie, which provides care and schooling for over 10,000 children in distress in South-East Asia. In my role as Director of the Philippines Programme I am responsible for developing a children's education programme in Cebu City, Philippines. We also have similar programmes running in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos."

During her time with the charity Lindsey has undertaken a range of lifesaving emergency work including coordinating the response to a devastating fire in Cebu's largest slum which left 3,000 people homeless, including 1,600 children.

It was at this time that she became inspired to improve her managerial skills, picking an Executive MBA programme to help do just that. "I wanted to do an MBA so that I could strengthen my management and leadership skills to help with my current role," said Lindsey. "A common misconception is that an MBA is only useful to those in the corporate world, but I can't stress enough how relevant the skills and knowledge are to those in the charity and not-for-profit sectors too. I also wanted to explore the possible synergies between corporate social responsibility and humanitarian work, and work in microfinance - which is about extending small loans to poor people enabling them to establish sustainable livelihoods."

Since graduating in June this year Lindsey has been busy implementing a new urban microfinance programme to provide micro loans (initial loans of approximately 45 Euros to be repaid over a period of 2 months at a 1% interest rate) for the families squatting in a cemetery-slum in Cebu. Enfants d'Asie was already providing care for the children in the community and she implemented the microfinance programme as a complementary scheme to enable the parents of the families to establish income-generating activities. It has been a great success and she now plans to replicate the programme in other slums in the city.

In addition to her continued work with Enfants d'Asie, Lindsey is also on the cusp of launching an online charitable organisation 'Women's Worldwide Web' which uses her new knowledge of microfinance. Lindsey explains: "I've been inspired by Professor Muhammad Yunus's Nobel prize-winning model of microfinance, which aims to link social gain and development with economic gain. I believe this model presents one of the most effective ways to alleviate poverty and through this specific venture I hope to empower women with loans, access to education, mentoring and networking, enabling them to obtain skills and qualifications and create their own small businesses."

In recognition of her contribution to the humanitarian sector Lindsey has just been awarded 'Student of the Year' by The Independent and Association of MBAs (AMBA). She is also a Board Member of Caméléon - a humanitarian organisation based in the Philippines which provides care to children who have suffered physical and sexual abuse.

"At some point in their career, most people will question the meaning of their work and what contribution they have made to society," said Lindsey. "There are many people for whom financial gain in their career is not sufficiently motivating; doing meaningful work to make a positive difference in the world and to help people is more important. I like to think that we are seeing a paradigm shift in the emergence of social business which is all about that... where financial gain and a positive social and environmental impact are compatible, a win-win. That's where the MBA can play a key role in promoting smart business which is about doing business and doing good in the world."

Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke is a graduate from ESCP Europe Business School