Sustainability in South Africa - A Virtual Consulting Experience

During May 2021 through the Fisher Global Consulting: Non-profit program, our group had the opportunity to participate in a virtual two-week experience working with a non-profit organization. We grew professionally and personally, through a variety of cultural immersion activities, group discussions, masterclasses, and interactions with our team members through the organization, Ocean Pledge. While a virtual experience has its differences, our team was dedicated towards making the most out of the two weeks and soaking up as much knowledge as we could. Whether it was learning the basics of isiXhosa, or discussing the impacts of fast fashion, our team took advantage of each experience to learn from those around us. This helped us to work towards building a stronger global mindset overall.

Our preparation started a couple months prior to the two-week experience in May. We initially learned about the Ocean Pledge organization and the Restaurant Program through virtual zoom meetings. In these meetings, we discussed the organization and the deliverables that we would be working towards. Our group had the pleasure of working with Diony, the founder of Ocean Pledge. Our tasks revolved around a relatively new pilot sustainable initiative restaurant program the organization was launching in Africa. Our main objectives were to help develop three levels that restaurants would navigate through as they worked towards sustainable practices. As Ocean Pledge reached these goals, the restaurants would have access to greater marketing incentives and influence on the overall restaurant industry.

We navigated working together in a virtual environment by designating certain times each day based on our differing time zones, where we would meet to discuss progress, challenges, and next steps.  Additionally, there were scheduled classes everyday with teams working on other projects and meetings with Diony. While working on our project, our primary goal was to produce work that would be beneficial to furthering the objectives that Diony had set out to meet. We were inspired by her apparent dedication and passion to make a difference in South Africa. By the end of the two weeks, we had accomplished a multitude of tasks. Our final project was to compile our work into a presentation that not only showcased our work to Diony but could be used in the future when working to attract donors for the program. Nicole spent time researching the impacts of plastic waste to emphasize the sustainable restaurant program to potential donors. Claire outlined the three tiers of the restaurant program and the increasing incentives each tier received. Jake focused on the marketing component, where he outlined a weekly social media schedule, designed apparel, and developed a website prototype for promoting the program. Finally, Hattie created a business model with an outline of the budget for the next two years, as well as other ways to produce revenue long term.

We are appreciative of all the people who helped us along our two week journey, as well those who made this opportunity possible for each of us. As a team, we are so grateful for the personal and professional growth this global project enabled. We know that we will be able to take each lesson, meeting, and interaction with us to our future endeavors as we continue to grow upon our global mindsets.

Members of Our Team

Hi! My name is Hattie Fu, and I am an incoming junior majoring in Finance and Economics. I’m the VP of Community Engagement in the Undergraduate Business Council, as well as a Business Senator in USG. I cherish all the experience and knowledge I gained through BUCC, BCI, and Phi Chi Theta. During my gap year, I was a professional interpreter and opened my own event planning firm. I have worked with a variety of clients across Europe and Asia.

Hi, my name is Claire Muhvic, and I am currently a second year student double majoring in Finance and Public Policy Analysis at Ohio State University. On campus, I am involved in Undergraduate Student Government, Phi Chi Theta, College Mentors for Kids, and a non-profit organization called Ascent Microfinance. Ascent where works to provide micro-loans to those in need in the Columbus area. Some of my extracurricular interests include playing the piano and volleyball!

Hi! My name is Jake Hollowed, and I am a third year student here at Ohio State, majoring in Information Systems and minoring in Italian. I am also very involved with my Fraternity, Delta Tau Delta. The Finance and PR committees I am a member of focus on campus relations and budget planning. A target of my education career has been growing a more globally-conscious mindset; it is something I cannot wait to improve on in the future. In my free time, I love being outside, longboarding, and soaking up the sun!

Hello, my name is Nicole Gulevich, and I am currently a first year student at Ohio State studying Finance. On campus, I am involved in a Global Business learning community and a professional development organization called Phi Gamma Nu. In Phi Gamma Nu, I am the director of academia. My interests include baking, hiking, and tennis!