Alissa Frick - South Korea
As an double degree student at Yonsei University and the University of St. Gallen, I already lived and studied in Seoul for one semester. When I heard about the internship opportunities at Leading House Asia, I was intrigued. As I study at the international graduate school in Yonsei University, I mostly experience Korea in a very international environment. The opportunity to work in a small local company was thus very appealing to me in order to learn more about the local working culture.
Thus, I did not hesitate and made my way to the IT valley in Gyeonggi-do. Even if it is a bit outside of Seoul, the city is still vibrant and full of busy workers. At YOLK, a lovely team of women welcomed me. YOLK is a social venture that provides solar installations – so called Solar Cows – in off-grid areas in rural Africa. Recently, YOLK launched a coffee brand, called AYANTU, exporting from Ethiopia. By leveraging the experience that YOLK gained over the years by installing Solar Cows in Africa, with AYANTU, YOLK is able to provide highest quality coffee to consumers and at the same time support the Solar Cow projects and make the fundings more sustainable.
“The opportunity to work in a small local company was very appealing to me.”Alissa Frick
My interest to work at YOLK was motivated by my studies in international development. With my additional background at the business university in St. Gallen, the idea of combining a business and a social cause in an innovative social venture was very compelling and interesting to me.
As AYANTU was still at the early stages of its business development, I mainly worked on the marketing and fundraising strategy for AYANTU and I prepared marketing and social media materials. While I was often working independently, drafting articles, concepts, outreach emails and the story line for AYANTU and Solar Cow, I also enjoyed working with the team at YOLK and a team of students in the US. For example, I did a photo shooting with my co-worker Soo (where I spontaneously turned into a model) or I participated at the International Cafe Show.
In summary, during my internship at YOLK, I learnt a lot about the workings, opportunities and challenges of an innovative social venture. Essentially, it is very important to have a motivated team where people find inspiration and purpose in their work. I also learnt a lot from my hard-working co-workers. They were always very welcoming and it was a pleasure to work with them. I am grateful for this experience and I am convinced that it will help me in my future career. Thus, I can only recommend the opportunities at Leading House Asia and the Science and Technology Office in Seoul, especially for people interested in a career in Asia.