Three UJ teams reach final of Global Business Challenge

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Three of the four short-listed teams are from the University of Johannesburg and include Team Think Finance, Team ABE Consulting and Team Original Solutions. The fourth short-listed team is Team HALT Financial Services from the University of Pretoria.

The teams will meet in Johannesburg at the South African final to be held on 20 May at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, where they will present their case study to a panel of four prestige judges, which includes a representative from Barclays and the FASSET CEO, Cheryl James.

Substantial increase

Entries for this year's CIMA Global Business Challenge closed on 1 April with a total of 174 teams registering from over 27 universities across South Africa. This is a substantial increase on last year when 21 campuses participated.

"Entries this year show an 85% growth year on year. This demonstrates that the Global Business Challenge is growing in stature and that the competition is now well-recognised on campuses around the country," says Samantha Louis, CIMA Africa regional director.

In the first round registered teams conduct a business analysis of a case study that is based on the CIMA test of professional competency exam, from this they are required to write and submit a report of recommendations. Marking and judging of the reports is a closely guarded process. This year a total of 86 reports were submitted by the deadline, up from 40 last year.

Global exposure

Ambitious students across the world have the opportunity to gain global exposure and business skills for the future. The winning team from each region will be flown to the global final in Mumbai, India, in August to compete against 23 other regions for the title of global champions.

"CIMA is proud to host its sixth Global Business Challenge in South Africa. The GBC has become a stage on which the best and brightest students from across the globe can showcase their talents. Many of the world's most respected business leaders have qualified with CIMA," Louis says.

Other teams taking part in the global final will come from Australia, Bangladesh, Mainland China, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, the Middle East, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UK, Vietnam and Zambia.