Louise Croneborg-Jones

Working as a water specialist in Africa for the World Bank, Louise dreamed of starting her own tech company focusing on water and weather challenges in low-income countries, but needed new skills, tools and perspectives to succeed. She found what she was looking for in the SSE MBA.

Why did you choose to study an Executive MBA at SSE?

For some time before the Executive MBA, I had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur in global water challenges. I wanted to leverage my career and experiences, but I needed new skills, tools and perspectives - especially in finance, innovation and business.

When I found SSE’s Executive MBA, I was impressed by the striking quality and variety of subjects, and that the program’s design was based on “learn-by-doing” and international contexts.

How would you say that the SSE MBA has contributed to your professional and personal development? What was your key learnings?

The Executive MBA was instrumental in my journey from being a water specialist for the World Bank in Africa, to running a tech start-up today.

Personally, the Executive MBA gave me new confidence and new knowledge that I needed to make the transition. Professionally, I also became attuned to the many aspects of running a company or organization – from accounting and marketing, to managing innovation processes.

Tell us a little bit about what it is you do today.

At my start-up Water in Sight, we leverage mobile technologies to ramp up the collection and digitization of water and weather measurements in low-income countries.

We operate in Malawi and will be expanding to Sierra Leone and Mozambique this year. With real-time access to measurements, we help strengthen governments’ early flood warnings and ability to adapt to climate change.

In 2021, we joined the SSE Business Lab’s Incubator Programme – an amazing accelerator that connects entrepreneurs to expert coaches, investors and a plethora of resources.

What about the SSE MBA program has impressed you the most?

The level of excellence in the professors’ teaching, their ability to bring and provoke new thinking and tools into the courses, and a dedication to keep the content rooted in international contexts. The fact that we got to travel to other countries and were given real-life business challenges to work on meant that the learning experience was dynamic and rewarding.

Anything that surprised you?

Like many fellow classmates, I was surprised about how fun it was to learn about accounting and corporate finance. These classes have been of great use for me professionally - in things like financial target setting, reporting and analysis.

Tell us about your classmates, and how they have contributed to your learning and broadening of perspectives?

What surprised me the most was how amazing it was to be part of a diverse group of students – all sharing a uniquely tough and rewarding journey of learning. There are few opportunities in life to get to know people from totally different sectors, countries and walks of life at a deep level. For example, it was thanks to a collaboration with a classmate who is an IT-genius, that we were able to build the first prototype of our startup.

Do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would like to share with others interested in studying an Executive MBA at SSE?

Go for it! You won’t regret the decision and the sacrifices required for an Executive MBA at SSE. It will be a major milestone for you both professionally and personally, opening new doors of opportunities and experiences you might not have known existed.