Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?

Valeria  Giacomin; G.  Jones; Erica  Salvaj

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?

by Valeria Giacomin, G. Jones and Erica Salvaj

Abstract

This working paper examines why a significant number of businesses have made non-profit investments in education in emerging markets between the 1960s and the present day. Using a sample of 110 interviews with business leaders from an oral history database at the Harvard Business School, the study shows that more than three-quarters of such leaders invested in education as a non-profit activity. Three different types of motivations behind such high levels of engagement with education are identified: values driven, context focused, and firm focused. It also identifies significant regional variations in terms of investment execution, structure, and impact. In South and Southeast Asia, there was a preference for long-term investment in primary and secondary education. In Africa and Latin America, some initiatives sometimes had a shorter-term connotation, but with high-profile projects in partnerships with international organizations and foreign universities. In Turkey, there was heavy focus on training and the creation of universities. The working paper concludes by examining the impact of this investment, comparing Chile and India especially. It discusses issues such as the paucity of financial data and the challenges of comparing different types of educational spending, which make robust conclusions hard, but does suggest that although such spending did not resolve major educational roadblocks across Africa, Asia and Latin America, it represented a positive overall social gain.

Keywords: philanthropy; CSR; oral history; Emerging Markets; Education; Reputation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business History;

Language: English

Format: Print

65 pages

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Citation:

Giacomin, Valeria, G. Jones, and Erica Salvaj. "Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-039, October 2019.

Describes the role of a leading Indian business leader in the campaign for independence before 1947 and his close relationship with the legendary Mahatma Gandhi. Provides the opportunity to consider the impact of colonialism on shaping Indian entrepreneurship and the role of the small Marwari group, originally from the Marwar region of Rajasthan, in creating many of India's leading business houses, including the Bajaj. The Bajaj, like other Marwari, were traders who after World War I transitioned into manufacturing, including sugar manufacturing and steel rolling.

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Why Does Business Invest in Education in Emerging Markets? Why Does It Matter?

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