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In July 2022, a group of Executive MBA students from Rotterdam University set off on an excursion to the underserved townships of Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. Through hands-on collaboration with small businesses and locals in the townships, each student developed a deep admiration and respect for the hardworking people of these communities. What began as a study trip quickly transformed into something more profound, and the students walked away with a desire to create real impact.

For one such student, the experience hit close to home. Having been a young girl raised in a South African township herself, Founder and Chairman Gretchen Rudolph was eager to see young girls in these communities harness the power of education as she once had. Gretchen rallied together a group of highly-motivated graduates and together they established Higher Horizons Africa in March 2023.

Higher Horizons Africa was founded by a team of business professionals, each with 15+ years of professional experience across finance, technology, engineering, marketing, and sales sectors. In addition to each board member’s professional network, Higher Horizons Africa draws support from Rotterdam University’s network of 160,000 global alumni.