In Panama, economic inequality is drastic, leaving much of rural Panama without access to greater education and financial resources. The International Business Brigades at Oakland University is seeking to create sustainable economic development solutions to improve the overall socio-economic level of under-resourced communities. A subset of the Global Brigades, the International Business Brigade program methodology consists of three primary support pillars: providing access to financial resources via the creation of a community-based credit and savings cooperative; financial literacy education; and micro-enterprise development and counseling.

Global Brigades staff work with communities to establish cooperatives and provide follow-up to the cooperatives. Financial education and micro-enterprise counseling are provided through student volunteers who make a seven-day trip to Panama through the International Business Brigades program.

The International Business Brigades trip is scheduled for April 28 through May 4. Interested students should contact Laura Collier at laura.collier@globalbrigades.org before the end of February.

School of Business Administration students may be eligible to receive a scholarship from the SBA to cover 50 percent of the program costs as a way to encourage and support expanding global understanding through experiential learning for business students. To learn more about the scholarship, contact SBA Dean Mohan Tanniru at tanniru@oakland.edu

For more information see the Global Brigades at Oakland website and this brochure (pdf).