Hector Tan Yew Hong

Class of 2014
Majoring in Political Science and Strategic Management

My 2013 summer internship in West Africa was with International Enterprise (IE) Singapore's Ghana Overseas Centre. IE Singapore is the government agency that drives our country's external economy, and for the past 30 years, they have been spearheading the overseas growth of Singaporebased companies and promoting international trade.

I worked as a market analyst to cover the English-speaking countries in the region. Due to their varying colonial history, most countries in West Africa could be broadly classified as English or French speaking. My job scope involved preparing reports at various analytical depths to match the needs of the Ghana Overseas Centre. I wrote country overviews for Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon, Sierra Leone and Gambia, as well as developed deeper market-entry analyses for specific sectors in these countries.

Throughout the internship, I also had the privilege of sitting in and contributing to various high-level meetings such as with the World Bank, major international companies, and government delegates from other countries in the region. This was an immensely challenging experience that pushed the boundaries of my academic foundation.

During my time there, I also worked with my fellow intern to successfully establish a university club-level partnership between Ashesi University's Business Club, and my SMU Emerging Markets club. This long-term collaboration exchanges market insights and opens up potential internships between both countries. We seek to bring together the emerging economies of Asia and Africa, with the aim of nurturing future leaders in international trade and development. I sincerely hope that my SOSS juniors would seize this opportunity to carry the strong reputation of our school to another continent.

Contrary to popular media perception about Africa, I encountered relatively few issues during my time in Ghana (aside from the occasional power and Internet outage). But these were minor inconveniences, and my overall experience was overwhelmingly positive. Most of the locals we met were exceedingly friendly and helpful. As a former British colony, the education system in Ghana is English-based, and this legacy has benefited the ease of communication. Almost everyone speaks very fluent English, so discussions were never a problem. From my personal experience, initiating a conversation with "Eti-sen" (hello) and "Wo ho ti sen" (how are you?), etc strikes up a friendly conversation almost immediately.

This internship provided an extremely insightful look into the intricacies of working in an emerging market economy. Being there first hand gave a level of experience that no amount of reading or hearing about could ever achieve. I developed a deeper macro-environment understanding of several West African countries, as well as various major industries in the region such as agriculture and energy. It has truly been an eye-opening experience and a privilege to be able to intern with Singapore's lead external trade agency. My academic foundation in SMU SOSS has provided me with a robust political economy and cultural understanding, and I will definitely be back to Africa soon!