AVOCADO ASSOCIATION DEAL EXEMPLIFIES DEDICATION TO INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
SCHOOL : Esan Graduate School of Business COUNTRY : Peru
Esan University, home to Esan Graduate School of Business, is seeking to bolster Peru’s agricultural sector through a new collaborative agreement with an association of leading avocado producers and exporters. “The avocado stands out among the different products available at national level, because it is already exceeding $800 million in exports annually,” commented Marco Vinelli, director of the master’s in agribusiness administration at Esan. The three-year deal has been signed with ProHass, a nationwide association of producers promoting the Hass avocado variety in Peru. “In addition to the scientific work on crop management that we do with the National Agrarian University La Molina, we are adding the development of strategic studies, information analysis, data processing, preparation of strategic plans, economic studies on the impact of Hass avocado production and export in Peru and joint events with Esan,” detailed ProHass president Juan Carlos Paredes Rosales. The three-year deal also extends to an exchange of publications and teaching materials, as well as participation in national and international inter-institutional co‑operation programmes. The principal aim, on both sides, is to reaffirm a commitment to education, research and the sustainable development of Peru’s agricultural sector. The hope is that the deal can also help strengthen the country’s position as a leader of avocado production and export. Right now, Peru is the world’s third-largest producer of avocados, behind only Mexico and Colombia, according to figures from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation Corporate Statistical Database. Esan University rector Jaime Serida heralded the agreement as an example of the importance the school places in ensuring it walks hand in hand with industry. The master’s in agribusiness administration at Esan has recently been updated and is designed to allow participants to apply their learning directly to senior management and specialised positions in the sector. TBD
In Scotland, there are almost as many female entrepreneurs as there are male, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people in the UK nation. In total, 8.6 per cent of working-age women were found to be running their own enterprise or setting up a business in 2023, compared to 9.8 per cent of men. The survey forms the basis for Scotland’s latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report and was conducted by Strathclyde Business School in conjunction with the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. In another nod to diversity, one in five entrepreneurs in Scotland were found to be non‑white. However, overall rates of entrepreneurship in Scotland remain lower than the UK’s other home nations, with Wales taking the top spot, England in second place and Northern Ireland third. Among 40 entrepreneurship experts who also took part in the GEM report survey, conditions supporting the growth of entrepreneurship in Scotland scored badly. Across 12 of 13 factors that include education, financing, government policies and research, the average rating was ‘barely satisfactory’. Such barriers might help explain why 60 per cent of survey respondents are deterred from pursuing an entrepreneurial path by fear of failure, even though a third believe that there are good start-up opportunities in their area. “While Scotland reached new milestones with female and minority ethnic early-stage entrepreneurial activity, concerns remain around rates of established business, fear of failure and the general context for entrepreneurship in Scotland, with worrying evaluations by the expert panel,” summarised Strathclyde Business School senior lecturer Efstathios Tapinos. “Understanding these and other issues related to entrepreneurial attitudes, perceptions and activity in the country is important for policy and practice, as entrepreneurship has important implications for the economy and many societal dynamics,” continued Tapinos, who is also a reader at the school’s Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation. EB SCOTLAND AHEAD ON DIVERSITY, BUT MORE WORK NEEDED TO SUPPORT ENTREPRENEURSHIP SCHOOL : Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde COUNTRY : UK
10 | Ambition | SEPTEMBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online