GLOBAL BUSINESS TRACK

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SOCIAL INNOVATION, AND IMPACT-DRIVEN VENTURES

Learn how entrepreneurs and social innovators turn ideas into ventures that create both economic value and social impact, inside the startup scenes, markets, and development initiatives of six destinations in Africa and Southeast Asia. Study abroad for three weeks to a full semester, or intern with a host organization in your field, with U.S. academic credit through Hamline University, GEI's school of record.

CHOOSE YOUR DESTINATION

Every destination has its own Global Business program page, with the programs, dates, and prices for that destination. You apply from there.
GHANA
KENYA
RWANDA
A trading culture centuries old, and a young startup scene in Accra that builds on it.

Global Business in Ghana >
The birthplace of mobile money, and Nairobi, East Africa's startup capital.

Global Business in Kenya >
One of the easiest places in Africa to start a company, and a meeting point for East Africa's founders.
Global Business in Rwanda >
SOUTH AFRICA
THAILAND
VIETNAM
The continent's deepest financial markets beside a vast informal economy, and the social enterprises working between them.
Global Business in South Africa >
A manufacturing and tourism powerhouse with a growing startup scene and its own idea of a sufficiency economy.
Global Business in Thailand >
A factory floor for the world, a startup scene in Ho Chi Minh City, and Mekong Delta farmers becoming brands.
Global Business in Vietnam >

ENGAGE WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

The Global Business track explores how entrepreneurial thinking and innovation can address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges. Students examine entrepreneurship inside a real innovation ecosystem, learning how startups, social enterprises, and community initiatives create solutions that generate both economic value and social impact.

The programs emphasize applied, field-based learning rather than classroom instruction. Students learn through site visits, venture analysis, collaborative projects, and guided reflection, and see how entrepreneurs and social innovators develop, test, and scale ideas in a different economic and cultural context.
In the Global Field Engagement
Visit startups, innovation hubs, cooperatives, and the organizations that support them, work in small groups on field assignments, and take on a community-engaged learning project with a local host organization.
In the Global Practicum
Join one of GEI's development initiatives with local student peers and carry the business side of the project: what a solution costs, how it is funded and maintained, and how it can be adopted beyond the first community.
In an Internship
Work full time with a startup, social enterprise, company, or business-support organization, in areas from finance and marketing to operations and product, with a placement description agreed before you arrive.

FOUR WAYS TO TAKE PART

Short-term program
3 or 4 weeks, January or Summer, 4 credits
  • Global Field Engagement, or
  • Global Practicum




Leads to course credit
Summer Program
8 weeks, June and July, 8 credits

  • Global Field Engagement
  • Global Practicum
  • Capstone portfolio



Leads to a Certificate in Global Business
SEMESTER Program
15 weeks, Fall or Spring, 16 credits

  • Global Field Engagement
  • Global Practicum
  • Language Intensive Course
  • Independent Study Project & Capstone Seminar

Leads to a Certificate in Global Engagement (Global Business concentration)
INTERNSHIP Program
4, 6, or 8 weeks, January or Summer, 4+ credits
  • A supervised placement with a host organization in your field, with a cohort on set dates. Placements on your own dates are also available.




Leads to course credit, or standalone

WHAT EVERY PROGRAM INCLUDES

Learning in the field
Site visits, community-engaged projects, and guided reflection rather than classroom instruction, alongside local professionals and community partners.
A full-time team in every destination
GEI's in-country coordinators, faculty, and guides host every cohort from arrival to departure, with 24/7 emergency support throughout. Housing is included.
U.S. academic credit
Credit through Hamline University, GEI's school of record, which issues the transcript. Check with your academic advisor how many credits your degree program accepts.
Who the track suits
Business, finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship students in particular. The study abroad programs are open to any major and level; internships generally to sophomores and above.

FOR BUSINESS SCHOOLS AND STUDY ABROAD OFFICES

Every Global Business program can be co-branded with your institution and offered as your own, under your name and brand as much or as little as you prefer. There is no minimum enrollment, U.S. credit comes through Hamline University, GEI's school of record, and a named GEI contact supports you and your students from the first conversation to the transcript.

HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ASSISTANCE?

If you have any questions or need help with your application, feel free to reach out via email or our contact form.