French Business School Enters Executive Training Deals With Kenyan Firms

The ESSEC Business School and a number of local business and industry leaders have sealed an agreement to advance executive training and talent development. At the sidelines of the just-concluded Africa Forward Summit, the French Business School, signed MoUs Vivo Energy Kenya, Africa Global Logistics, and IBL Group to deepen talent development for mid- to senior-level executives. They will pursue their Executive MBA and related studies at ESSEC.

The ESSEC Africa Chair, “Business and Industry”, was launched in 2024/2025. This high-level chair aims to train a cohort of international Masters level students at ESSEC’s Africa campus in Rabat (Morocco) between January and April each year, alongside case studies, site visits, and four-to-six-month internships.

According to the Executive Director of the Business and Industry in Africa Chair at ESSEC Business School, Mr Benoît Chervalier, industrialisation of the African continent, the local transformation of raw materials, and the strengthening of human capital capacities are the core pillars of this private-sector-driven initiative.

Vivo Energy Kenya Managing Director, Mr Peter Murungi, said there is need for practical Masters Level training to guarantee effective outcomes. “At Vivo Energy, we will play a key role in ensuring that the MoU translates into tangible outcomes,” Murungi said. “The visit in Kenya, which came after visits in London with the Vivo Energy leadership team, illustrates the level of engagement of the Group.”

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After the success of the first cohort, which visited Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan/Grand-Bassam) in 2024/2025, the second immersive study trip took place in March 2026 in Kenya (Nairobi-Mombasa). International students participated in trips to tea and coffee value chains, presentations by IBL, and activities with Naivas and Equator Energy. They also visited ports in Nairobi and Mombasa with Africa Global Logistics and took part in site visits and business case studies with Vivo Energy.

At a networking session with business leaders, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) CEO, Carole Kariuki, stated that “This Business and Industry in Africa Chair at ESSEC Business School is critical, as partners such as KEPSA and ESSEC seek to convert global disruption into structured economic opportunity and shared prosperity.”

Martin Mwangi, Managing Director of AGL Kenya, which hosted the students at the port of Mombasa, added that the Chair would help in attracting new talent, developing internal capacity and contributing to the development of the African continent in the global value chain.”

A high-level conference will be held in Paris on June 15-16, 2026, marking the tenth anniversary of CEMA (Commodity and Energy Markets Association), and will be chaired by Prof Andrea Rancoroni, co-founder of the Africa Chair.

IBL CEO, Arnaud Lagesse, concluded: “This initiative reflects the kind of long-term, practical partnerships IBL believes in. We are proud to deepen our commitment to the Chair and to contribute to the development of future African talent through direct exposure to regional business ecosystems.”

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